"Comin' Thro' the Rye" is a poem written in 1782 by Robert Burns (1759–1796). The words are put to the melody of the Scottish Minstrel "Common' Frae The Town". This is a variant of the tune to which "Auld Lang Syne" is usually sung—the melodic shape is almost identical, the difference lying in the tempo and rhythm.
The original words of "Comin' thro' the rye" cannot be satisfactorily traced. There are many different versions of the song. The version which is now to be found in the Works of Burns is the one given in Johnson's Museum, which passed through the hands of Burns; but the song itself, in some form or other, was known long before Burns.
The protagonist, "Jenny", is not further identified, but there has been reference to a "Jenny from Dalry" and a longstanding legend in the Drakemyre suburb of the town of Dalry, North Ayrshire, holds that "comin thro' the rye" describes crossing a ford through the Rye Water at Drakemyre to the north of the town, downstream from Ryefield House and not far from the confluence of the Rye with the River Garnock.[2][3] When this story appeared in the Glasgow Herald in 1867, it was soon disputed with the assertion that everyone understood the rye to be a field of rye, wet with dew, which also fits better with other stanzas that substitute "wheat" and "grain" for "rye".[4] An alternative suggestion is that "the rye" was a long narrow cobblestone-paved lane, prone to puddles of water.[2]
While the original poem is already full of sexual imagery, an alternative version makes this more explicit. It has a different chorus, referring to a phallic "staun o' staunin' graith" (roughly "an erection of astonishing size"), "kiss" is replaced by "fuck", and Jenny's "thing" in stanza four is identified as her "cunt".[5][6][7]
Even the "cleaner" version of the Burns lyrics is quite bawdy, and it is this one, or an "Anglicised" version of it, that is most commonly "covered".
Gin a body meet a body Comin' thro' the rye Gin a body kiss a body Need a body cry?
Chorus: Ilka lassie has her laddie Nane, they say, hae I Yet a' the lads they smile at me When comin' thro' the rye.
Gin a body meet a body Comin' frae the town Gin a body kiss a body Need a body frown?
(Chorus)
Gin a body meet a body, Comin' frae the well, Gin a body kiss a body, Need a body tell?
(Chorus)
'Mang the train there is a swain I dearly lo'e myself But what his name or whaur his hame I dinna care to tell
(Chorus)
The Catcher in the Ryeedit
The title of the novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951) by J. D. Salinger comes from the poem's name. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, misremembers the line of the poem as, "if a body catch a body," rather than, "if a body meet a body." He keeps picturing children playing in a field of rye near the edge of a cliff, and himself catching them when they start to fall off.[8]
Cover versionsedit
The first recording of this song was made in 1906 by Ruth Vincent.[9]
Russian folk song Korobeiniki uses a similar bawdy allusion to rye.
Referencesedit
^Napier, G. W. (19 February 1876). "Notes and Queries". Notes and Queries (112).
^ abJohn Cairney (1 January 2011). The Luath Burns Companion. Luath Press Ltd. p. 267. ISBN978-1-906817-85-5.
^Sheila Douglas (January 1996). "Burns and the Folksinger". Burns Conference, Strathclyde University. STELLA. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
^Robert Burns (1871). The complete poetical works of Robert Burns, arranged in the order of their earliest publication: (With New Annotations, Biographical Notices &c., by Scott Douglas). James M'Kie. p. 11.
^Damrosch, David (2003). What is world literature?. Princeton University Press. p. 123. ISBN0691049866.
^"Comin' thro' the rye [alternate version]". BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
^Burns, Roberts (1911). The Merry Muses of Caledonia. p. 61.
^Chen, Lingdi (May 2009). "An Analysis of the Adolescent Problems in The Catcher in the Rye". Asian Social Science. 5 (5): 144. doi:10.5539/ass.v5n5p143. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
^"Original versions of Comin' Thro' the Rye by Miss Ruth Vincent | SecondHandSongs". SecondHandSongs.
^"Victor matrix C-12474. Comin' thro' the rye / Marcella Sembrich - Discography of American Historical Recordings". Adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
^"Mogambo-- comin thro the rye". Retrieved 19 October 2021 – via YouTube.
^"Songs of Scotland - Jo Stafford | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
^"Episode 102: Whiskey". Theme Time Radio Hour Archive. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
External linksedit
Digitised copy of Comin' thro' the rye in James Johnson's Scots Musical Museumpp. 430–431, "Written for this Work by Robert Burns", printed between 1787 and 1803. Published online by National Library of Scotland. JPEG, PDF, XML versions.
comin, thro, other, uses, disambiguation, poem, written, 1782, robert, burns, 1759, 1796, words, melody, scottish, minstrel, common, frae, town, this, variant, tune, which, auld, lang, syne, usually, sung, melodic, shape, almost, identical, difference, lying, . For other uses see Comin Thro the Rye disambiguation Comin Thro the Rye is a poem written in 1782 by Robert Burns 1759 1796 The words are put to the melody of the Scottish Minstrel Common Frae The Town This is a variant of the tune to which Auld Lang Syne is usually sung the melodic shape is almost identical the difference lying in the tempo and rhythm Contents 1 Origin and meaning 2 Burns lyrics 3 Lyrics usually sung Ilka lassie 4 The Catcher in the Rye 5 Cover versions 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksOrigin and meaning edit nbsp Illustration to Comin Thro the Rye published in Poetical Works of Robert Burns 1920 nbsp The ford across the Rye Water in Drakemyre DalryG W Napier in an 1876 Notes and Queries wrote 1 The original words of Comin thro the rye cannot be satisfactorily traced There are many different versions of the song The version which is now to be found in the Works of Burns is the one given in Johnson s Museum which passed through the hands of Burns but the song itself in some form or other was known long before Burns The protagonist Jenny is not further identified but there has been reference to a Jenny from Dalry and a longstanding legend in the Drakemyre suburb of the town of Dalry North Ayrshire holds that comin thro the rye describes crossing a ford through the Rye Water at Drakemyre to the north of the town downstream from Ryefield House and not far from the confluence of the Rye with the River Garnock 2 3 When this story appeared in the Glasgow Herald in 1867 it was soon disputed with the assertion that everyone understood the rye to be a field of rye wet with dew which also fits better with other stanzas that substitute wheat and grain for rye 4 An alternative suggestion is that the rye was a long narrow cobblestone paved lane prone to puddles of water 2 While the original poem is already full of sexual imagery an alternative version makes this more explicit It has a different chorus referring to a phallic staun o staunin graith roughly an erection of astonishing size kiss is replaced by fuck and Jenny s thing in stanza four is identified as her cunt 5 6 7 Burns lyrics edit nbsp Comin Thro the Rye source source Tune for Comin Thro the Rye Problems playing this file See media help O Jenny s a weet A poor body Jenny s seldom dry She draigl t B a her petticoatie Comin thro the rye Chorus Comin thro the rye poor body Comin thro the rye She draigl t a her petticoatie Comin thro the rye Gin C a body meet a body Comin thro the rye Gin a body kiss a body Need a body cry D chorus Gin a body meet a body Comin thro the glen Gin a body kiss a body Need the warl E ken F chorus Gin a body meet a body Comin thro the grain Gin a body kiss a body The thing s a body s ain G chorus A weet wet B draigl t draggled C gin given in the sense of if D cry call out for help E warl world F ken know G ain ownLyrics usually sung Ilka lassie editEven the cleaner version of the Burns lyrics is quite bawdy and it is this one or an Anglicised version of it that is most commonly covered Gin a body meet a body Comin thro the rye Gin a body kiss a body Need a body cry Chorus Ilka lassie has her laddie Nane they say hae I Yet a the lads they smile at me When comin thro the rye Gin a body meet a body Comin frae the town Gin a body kiss a body Need a body frown Chorus Gin a body meet a body Comin frae the well Gin a body kiss a body Need a body tell Chorus Mang the train there is a swain I dearly lo e myself But what his name or whaur his hame I dinna care to tell Chorus The Catcher in the Rye editThe title of the novel The Catcher in the Rye 1951 by J D Salinger comes from the poem s name Holden Caulfield the protagonist misremembers the line of the poem as if a body catch a body rather than if a body meet a body He keeps picturing children playing in a field of rye near the edge of a cliff and himself catching them when they start to fall off 8 Cover versions editThe first recording of this song was made in 1906 by Ruth Vincent 9 The song was sung by Marcella Sembrich in 1912 10 The song was sung by Marian Anderson in 1944 The song is sung by Ava Gardner in the 1953 John Ford film Mogambo 11 Jo Stafford covered the song on her album Songs of Scotland 12 John C Reilly sang the song on a special whiskey themed episode of Bob Dylan s Theme Time Radio Hour in 2020 13 See also editRussian folk song Korobeiniki uses a similar bawdy allusion to rye References edit Napier G W 19 February 1876 Notes and Queries Notes and Queries 112 a b John Cairney 1 January 2011 The Luath Burns Companion Luath Press Ltd p 267 ISBN 978 1 906817 85 5 Sheila Douglas January 1996 Burns and the Folksinger Burns Conference Strathclyde University STELLA Retrieved 2014 10 28 Robert Burns 1871 The complete poetical works of Robert Burns arranged in the order of their earliest publication With New Annotations Biographical Notices amp c by Scott Douglas James M Kie p 11 Damrosch David 2003 What is world literature Princeton University Press p 123 ISBN 0691049866 Comin thro the rye alternate version BBC Retrieved 30 November 2011 Burns Roberts 1911 The Merry Muses of Caledonia p 61 Chen Lingdi May 2009 An Analysis of the Adolescent Problems in The Catcher in the Rye Asian Social Science 5 5 144 doi 10 5539 ass v5n5p143 Retrieved 2 November 2011 Original versions of Comin Thro the Rye by Miss Ruth Vincent SecondHandSongs SecondHandSongs Victor matrix C 12474 Comin thro the rye Marcella Sembrich Discography of American Historical Recordings Adp library ucsb edu Retrieved 19 October 2021 Mogambo comin thro the rye Retrieved 19 October 2021 via YouTube Songs of Scotland Jo Stafford Songs Reviews Credits AllMusic Retrieved 19 October 2021 Episode 102 Whiskey Theme Time Radio Hour Archive Retrieved 19 October 2021 External links editDigitised copy of Comin thro the rye in James Johnson s Scots Musical Museum pp 430 431 Written for this Work by Robert Burns printed between 1787 and 1803 Published online by National Library of Scotland JPEG PDF XML versions Public domain recording 1914 by Alma Gluck Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Comin 27 Thro 27 the Rye amp oldid 1186090058, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
