Anne Grant

Scottish poet, best known for writing the poem "Oh, Where, Tell Me Where?" used as lyrics for "The Bluebells of Scotland." (February 21, 1755, Glasgow, Scotland - November 7, 1838, Edinburgh, Scotland). Anne MacVicar was born in Glasgow to a British army officer, who brought his daughter to America while on service in 1757. Annie grew up in Albany, NY, and returned to Scotland when she was 13 years old. In 1779, she married a Scottish minister, Rev. James Grant, chaplain at Fort Augustus and appointed minister at Laggan in Inverness-shire. Mr. Grant died in 1801, leaving Annie penniless while pregnant with the youngest of 8 surviving children. To support her children, she began publishing poems and writings written over the years. A few years later she had published three volumes entitled "Letters from the Mountains," which passed through several editions. She also published the "Memoirs of an American Lady" and other volumes of prose. Anne was granted a pension by the government, and she spent the rest of her days in comfort surrounded by friends in Edinburgh. The famous poem, "Oh, Where, Tell Me Where?" was written for the departure of the Marquis of Huntly, with his regiment, to Holland in 1799. The original words of Mrs. Grant’s poetry have, over the years, been used for the song, and at times replaced with others. In addition to the plethora of verses, the title has also changed over the years, being known also as "The New Highland Lad," "O Where, Tell Me Where," and "The Bells of Scotland." The source of the lyrics is largely undisputed; there is more controversy over the origins of the melody. The North Country Chorister, published in 1802 by Ritson, printed this song as "The New Highland Lad." The song was brought to prominence by a 'Mrs. Jordan,' who was actually neither a 'Mrs.' nor a 'Jordan,' but Dorothea Bland, born near Waterford in 1762. She is often remembered for singing Blue Bells of Scotland, at Drury Lane around 1800, set to what she called her own composition. The 1853 edition of The Scots Musical Museum states that the words were set to a ‘modern’ Scottish air, but gives no indication of which one, or this modern air’s relation to either Ritson’s or Mrs. Jordan’s melody. Another history of the melody of Blue Bells of Scotland tells of George Thomson, born in 1757, who directed the first Edinburgh Music Festival. As a violinist and lover of Scottish music, he disliked the melodies of some of Scotland’s airs. Seeking better music, he forwarded these airs to Joseph Haydn in 1799, who worked on 200 of them, including Blue Bells of Scotland.