The Dowie Dens o Yarrow

"The Dowie Dens of Yarrow", also known as "The Braes of Yarrow" or simply "Yarrow", is a Scottish border ballad (Child 214, Roud 13). It exists in many variants (Child collected at least 18) and it has been printed as a broadside, as well as published in song collections. It is considered to be a folk standard, and many different singers have performed and recorded it.

The song describes an unequal conflict between a group of men and one man, concerning a lady. This takes place in the vicinity of Yarrow. The one man succeeds on overcoming nearly all his opponents but is finally defeated by (usually) the last one of them.

In some versions, the lady (who is not usually named) rejects a number (often nine) wealthy suitors, in preference for a servant or ploughman. The nine make a pact to kill the other man and they ambush him in the "Dens of Yarrow".

In some versions it is unclear who the nine (or other number of men) are; in others, they are brothers or are men sent by the lady's father. In the ensuing fight, eight of the attackers are generally killed or wounded, but the ninth (often identified as the lady's brother, John or Douglas) fatally wounds the victim of the plot, usually by running him through with a sword and often by a cowardly blow, delivered from behind.

The lady may see the events in a dream, either before or after they take place and usually has some sort of dialogue with her father about the merits of the man who has been ambushed and killed.

Some versions of the song end with the lady grieving: in others she dies of grief.

Dowie is Scots and Northumbrian English for sad, dismal, dull or dispirited ,den Scots and Northumbrian for a narrow wooded valley.

The ballad has some similarities with the folk song "Bruton Town" (or "The Bramble Briar"). This song contains a similar murderous plot, usually by a group of brothers, and directed against a servant who has fallen in love with their sister. It also includes the motif, present in some versions of "The Dowie Dens o Yarrow", of the woman dreaming of her murdered lover before discovering the truth of the plot. However, the rhythmical structure of the two songs is quite different and there is no obvious borrowing of phraseology between them.

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