Scotlandsmusic

The Gadie is an insignificant tributary of the river Don in Aberdeenshire but has probably inspired more adulatory verse than any stream of comparable size in the world. It runs 'at the back of' - i.e. to the north of Bennachie, a finely-shaped hill which dominates the landscape of eastern Aberdeenshire. Dr. John Park (1805-1865) was a Presbyterian minister at St. Andrews when he wrote the verses, which it is said he took down from the singing of a 'peasant girl' in the Aberdeenshire Highlands. The tune is 'The Hessians' March'.