Elizabeth Grant
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Grant (1745?-1814?) was a song-writer.
Grant was from Carron
. She is known as the writer of one song, 'Roy's Wife of Aldivalloch.' She was the daughter of 'Lieutenant Joseph Grant, late of Colonel Montgomerie's regiment of highlanders,' and was probably born about 1745, near Aberlour
, on the Spey
, Banffshire
. She was married about 1763 to her cousin, Captain James Grant of Carron, near Elchies, on the Spey. Grant being unfortunate, sold Carron in 1786 or 1787 to Robert Grant of Wester Elchies, and in 1790 he died within Holyrood
. Mrs. Grant was afterwards married to Dr. Murray, a Bath physician, and she died in Bath about 1814. A portrait of her is at Castle Grant
.
'Roy's Wife,' Mrs. Grant's only known production, instantly became popular, and it remains a favourite among standard Scottish songs. Its allusions bear upon persons and places on the Aberdeen
border of Mrs. Grant's native county. There are fragments of a legendary lyric with several of the same references, but 'Roy's Wife' has completely superseded this, besides appropriating to itself the old 'Ruffian's Rant' to which it is sung. Writing to Thomson in 1793 and 1794, Burns refers to the song, and himself makes a little English experiment to the same tune, in a conciliatory address to Mrs. Riddel. As in these letters Burns calls the air 'Roy's Wife,' while his 'Ladie Onlie,' written for Johnson's 'Museum' in 1787 is set to the tune 'The Ruffian's Rant,' we get an approximate date for the appearance of Mrs. Grant's song.
Grant was from Carron
Carron, Speyside
Carron is an old distillery village on the north bank of the River Spey in Moray, Scotland....
. She is known as the writer of one song, 'Roy's Wife of Aldivalloch.' She was the daughter of 'Lieutenant Joseph Grant, late of Colonel Montgomerie's regiment of highlanders,' and was probably born about 1745, near Aberlour
Aberlour
Aberlour , is the name of a place in Moray, Scotland, 12 miles south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. A burn , a tributary of the River Spey, and surrounding parish, are both named Aberlour, but the name is most commonly used in reference to the village which straddles the stream and flanks the...
, on the Spey
River Spey
The River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest-flowing river in Scotland...
, Banffshire
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...
. She was married about 1763 to her cousin, Captain James Grant of Carron, near Elchies, on the Spey. Grant being unfortunate, sold Carron in 1786 or 1787 to Robert Grant of Wester Elchies, and in 1790 he died within Holyrood
Holyrood
Holyrood is an anglicisation of the Scots haly ruid . It may refer to:*Holyrood , relics of the True Cross on which Jesus died-Scotland:* Holyrood, Edinburgh, an area of Edinburgh...
. Mrs. Grant was afterwards married to Dr. Murray, a Bath physician, and she died in Bath about 1814. A portrait of her is at Castle Grant
Castle Grant
Castle Grant stands a mile north of Grantown-on-Spey and was the former seat of the Clan Grant chiefs of Strathspey in Moray.-History:The original tower was built in the 14th century by the Clan Comyn of Badenoch. Originally a Comyn Clan stronghold, clan traditions tell us that the castle was taken...
.
'Roy's Wife,' Mrs. Grant's only known production, instantly became popular, and it remains a favourite among standard Scottish songs. Its allusions bear upon persons and places on the Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
border of Mrs. Grant's native county. There are fragments of a legendary lyric with several of the same references, but 'Roy's Wife' has completely superseded this, besides appropriating to itself the old 'Ruffian's Rant' to which it is sung. Writing to Thomson in 1793 and 1794, Burns refers to the song, and himself makes a little English experiment to the same tune, in a conciliatory address to Mrs. Riddel. As in these letters Burns calls the air 'Roy's Wife,' while his 'Ladie Onlie,' written for Johnson's 'Museum' in 1787 is set to the tune 'The Ruffian's Rant,' we get an approximate date for the appearance of Mrs. Grant's song.