On The Banks of The Allan Wter

'On the banks of Allan Water / When the sweet spring-time did fall / Was the miller's lovely daughter, / Fairest of them all, / For his Bride a soldier sought her, / And a winning tongue had he! / On the banks of Allan Water, / None so gay as she.'


The Allan Water run through Dunblane ( pictured above) and Bridge-of-Allan and was the inspiration for this popular ballad,
'On the Banks of Allan Water' written by Matthew Lewis (1775-1818), the English author, socialite and one-time member of parliament best known for his gothic novel 'The Monk'.

The song became very popular and features in Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel 'Far From the Madding Crowd'.

Listen to it on Youtube sung by Adelina Patti or click-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3UnZT0ioFE