the lowlands of holland (lyrics)

The love that I have chosen I therewith be content

And the salt sea shall be frozen before that I repent.

Repent it shall I never until the day I die

But the lowlands of Holland have twined my love and me.

My love lies in the salt sea and I am on the side.

It's enough to break a young thing's heart that lately was a bride.

That lately was a bonny bride with pleasure in her e'e

But the lowlands of Holland have twined my love and me.

My love has built a bonny ship and set her on the sea

With seven score good mariners to bear her company.

But there's three score of them is sunk and three score dead at sea

And the lowlands of Holland have twined my love and me.

My love has built a nether ship and set her on the main

With nane but twenty mariners aboard to bring her hame.

But the weary wind began to rise, the sea began to rout

And my love then and his bonny ship turned with the shins about.

There shall nae the quiff come on my head nor comb come in my hair

There shall neither coal nor candlelight shine in my bower mair.

And neither will I marry until the day I die

For I never had a love but one, and he's drowned in the sea.

Oh hold your tongue, my daughter dear, be still and be content.

For there's men enough in Galloway, ye need not sore lament.

Oh there's men enough in Galloway, alas there's none for me

For I never had a love but one, and he's drowned in the sea.

Marianne sang Scots songs, and other stories

The AGM wasn't all dancing and feasting. In between, we were treated to a number of lectures and breakout sessions offering further insight on the world of Sense & Sensibility.

Maureen Kelly came all the way from Scotland to introduce us to some of the songs Marianne Dashwood might have sung. Scotland (aka Caledonia) had become something of a national craze in Jane Austen's time, with its romantic, melancholy landscape and the dashing figure of the highlander. Tartans became a fashion statement, and folk songs became the entertainment of choice for young ladies following the cult of sensibility, like the character Marianne. Actually, we know that Jane Austen herself liked the songs, since there are among her possessions several songbooks and some sheet music that she hand-copied--songbooks were expensive! Maureen has a fantastic voice. My favorite Scots song? The Lowlands of Holland, best sung in my humble opinion by Four Pints Shy-- check 'em out!

Dr. Sheryl Craig giving a presentation about the economics of Sense & Sensibility, called "Wealth Has Much to Do with It." (Excerpt: "In the waning years of the 18th century, incredibly wealthy characters living the lifestyles of the rich and famous (preferably in haunted castles) sold books. No-one was publishing novels about ordinary people who lived in a cottage down the lane. In retrospect, it seems a risky thing to have done, but Jane Austen was about to break the mold with heroines whose modest income would determine the course the story would take.")

Art historian Jeffrey Nigro expounding on "The Iconography of Sensibility," i.e., the artwork and literature that shaped the cult of sensibility in Jane Austen's lifetime. That sensibility cult would later evolve into full-blown Romanticism. Much of their influence can be observed in Marianne's postures, actions, and words throughout the novel.

Elaine Bander, Juliet McMaster, and Peter Sabor hailed from Canada to give a panel discussion on "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Sense and Sensibility." They spoke about the judgments characters make of one another, the duel, and the novel's many letters.