Tibbie Fowler O' The Glen

Traditional Scottish Song

"Tibbie Fowler O' The Glen" is a traditional Scottish song about a woman whose wealth attracts numerous suitors. The tune was already in use by 1724, when Allan Ramsay named it for his song "Genty Tibby and Sonsy Nelly". Verses appeared in David Herd's collection in 1776, and a longer text was printed in James Johnson's "The Scots Musical Museum" in the 1790s. A manuscript dated 1786–1787, preserved by the National Trust for Scotland, contains the song in the handwriting of Robert Burns, James Johnson and others.

A nineteenth-century account records a tradition identifying Tibbie with Isabella Fowler, who married into the Logan of Restalrig family during the seventeenth century. The identification remains unproven. Ordnance Survey records from 1856 also identify Tibby Fowler's Glen and Tibby Fowler's Cottage near Edrington Castle in Berwickshire, Scotland.

Related Scottish Country Dances

Tibby Fowler O' The Glen

Tibbie Fowler O' The Glen - Traditional Lyrics

Tibbie Fowler o' the Glen,
There's ower mony wooing at her;
Tibbie Fowler o' the Glen,
There's ower mony wooing at her.

Chorus
Wooin' at her, pu'in' at her,
Courtin' her, and canna get her;
Filthy elf, it's for her pelf
That a' the lads are wooin' at her.

Ten cam east, and ten cam west;
Ten cam rowin' ower the water;
Twa cam down the lang dyke-side:
There's twa-and-thirty wooin' at her.

There's seven but, and seven ben,
Seven in the pantry wi' her;
Twenty head about the door:
There's ane-and-forty wooin' at her!

She's got pendles in her lugs;
Cockle-shells wad set her better!
High-heel'd shoon, and siller tags;
And a' the lads are wooin' at her.

The words above follow the four-verse text printed in the nineteenth-century collection "The Scottish Songs". The chorus is printed once for ease of reading. Other historical versions contain additional verses and variations in spelling.

This page uses content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, along with original copyrighted content and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources. See our Copyright and Reuse Policy for details.
Text from this original Literary Influences on Berwickshire Place-Names, by Eila Williamson.
Text from this original Tibby Fowler O' the Glen, National Trust for Scotland.
Text from this original The Scottish Songs, digitised by the National Library of Scotland.
Text from this original Early Sources of RSCDS Dances, George W. Williams V, Up a Double.

Back to the top of this 'Tibbie Fowler O' The Glen Song' page