Sir Patrick Spens

Like many of the core ballads in my repertoire, I first encountered Sir Patrick Spens through the University of Glasgow’s Traditional to Digital project in 1999. The melodies I heard through that work lodged deeply, and in many cases I am still singing versions based on what I learned then.

Child 58, Sir Patrick Spens is one of the great Scots sea-ballads: a royal command, a voyage to Norway, and disaster at sea. It has often been linked to historical crossings between Scotland and Norway, especially those surrounding the Maid of Norway, though no single event or figure can be tied to the ballad with certainty. St Margaret’s Hope, where I now live, is traditionally linked with the Maid of Norway’s final journey.