Black is the colour of my true love’s hair
Her lips are like some roses fair
She’s got the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands
I love the ground whereon she stands

I love my love and well she knows
I love the ground whereon she goes
And I wish the day it soon would come
When she and I would be as one

En vacker vän jag har utvalt
Den tänkte jag skull bli min tröst
Den tänkte jag skull bli min tröst
Och vila vid mitt unga bröst

Min väninna bröt, hon bröt sin ed
Hon bröt min lyckostjärna ned
Nu står jag en och förtald
Med sorgen över tappad skatt

Black is the colour of my true love’s hair
Her lips are like some roses fair
She’s got the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands
I love the ground whereon she stands

So I went to the Clyde to mourn and weep
Where satisfied I ne’er can be
And I wrote her a letter just a few short lines
And suffered death a thousand times.

Black is the colour of my true love’s hair
Den tänkte jag skull bli min tröst
Black is the colour
En vacker vän jag har utvalt

Traditional arranged by Ray Cooper

Translation of Swedish verses:

The Story Of The Song That Went Around The World 

‘Black Is The Colour Of My True Love’s Hair’ is one of the most well known folk songs in the Celtic folk repertoire. The song was collected in the Appalachian mountains early in the 20^th century and the lyrics are generally thought to be Scottish, since they reference the River Clyde (also where the Scottish side of my family come from). I first heard the song from Cara Dillon at a session many years ago and I remember she said that it was her favourite song.

When I moved to Sweden, I started listening to a lot of Swedish folk music, enthralled by the colours and strange melancholy of the melodies. One of the best groups is Triakel with whose singer, Emma Härdelin, I have had some small collaborations in the past. I noticed that one of their songs ‘En Vacker Vän’ (A Beautiful Friend) had almost the exact same melody as ‘Black Is The Colour’. I started trying to put the two songs together and they make a good fit, the lyrics tell of a similar situation, lost love and betrayal, but in different languages. When it came to record the album I asked Emma to sing it with me, which she did beautifully. Emma had never heard ‘Black Is The Colour’ and was astonished that it had the same tune as her Swedish song.

Later, in the summer of 2024, I was rehearsing the song with my friend, the piano player Gustav Andersson. Gustav also plays organ in our local church and he immediately recognised the tune as a well known hymn! He pulled out his hymn book and said ‘there it is, number 16!’ I asked who wrote it? At the bottom of the page it read ‘Folkvisa från Skjöldinge’. Skjöldinge is a village 24 km from where I live and has a population of 657.

So there you have it, the well known Celtic tune was collected from the Appalachians but originated in a small Swedish village.