Broom of the Cowdenknowes

[2] The original and extended ballad was the story of a young shepherdess who falls in love with a stranger on horseback, who rides by her pasture every day.

The broom, a tall shrub which blooms with spikes of small golden flowers, once grew abundantly on hillsides of the Scottish Borders.

"Broom O' the Cowdenknowes" was recorded by Scottish folk singer Jean Redpath on her 1987 release A Fine Song for Singing.

[5] Other artists who recorded the song under either this title or its variants include Silly Wizard, Alexander James Adams, Baltimore Consort, John Allan Cameron, Cherish the Ladies, The City Waites, Liam Clancy, Meg Davis, Frankie Gavin, Ian Giles, Dave Gunning, The Highwaymen, Michal Hromek, Jimmy MacBeath, Ed Miller, North Sea Gas, Kim Robertson, Lucie Skeaping, The Watersons, and Robin Williamson.

[6] The ballad was recorded under its alternate title "Bonny May" by English folk singer June Tabor on her first solo album, Airs and Graces, in 1976.