What a beautiful and heartfelt performance.

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OH DEAR ME/ THE JUTE MILL SONG

Of all the poems and songs that are associated with Mary Brooksbank, the Jute Mill Song or Oh Dear Me is probably the best known. Based on a single traditional verse which she adapted as the chorus, she managed to capture a lot more about life than just the hardships of the jute mill lassies. As Jim says, 'two lines of Mary's song say more than many a politician can say in a lifetime - but I'll leave you to guess which two I mean!' Mary Brooksbank worked all her working life in the jute mills of Dundee and the song tells of the hard life. Mary was a member of the communist party and a social activist. She self-published a book of her poems and an autobiography.

Shiftins, piecing and spinning were three of the jobs on the flett - the floor on which the spinning machinery stood. The shifter was the person who removed full bobbins from the spinning frames and replaced them with empty ones. Ten and nine was the weekly wage of the mill lassies at the turn of the century - ten shillings (paid as a gold half sovereign) and nine pence.

1: Oh dear me the mills gaein fast,
And the pair wee shifters canna get nae rest;
Shiftin bobbins, coorse and fine, 
They fairly mak ye wark for your ten and nine.

2: Oh dear me I wish the day wis done,
Rinnin up an doun the pass is nae fun;
Shiftin, piecin, spinnin - warp, weft and twine,
Tae feed an claith ma bairnies affen ten and nine.

Chorus: 
Oh dear me the mills gaein fast,
And the pair wee shifters canna get nae rest;
Shiftin bobbins coorse and fine,
 They fairly mak ye wark for your ten and nine.

3: O dear me, the warld's ill divided,
Them that works the hardest are the least provided;
But I maun bide contented, dark days or fine,
There's no much pleisure livin affen ten and nine.

Chorus: 
Oh dear me the mills gaein fast,
And the pair wee shifters canna get nae rest;
Shiftin bobbins coorse and fine,
They fairly mak ye wark for your ten and nine.

From the album Jim Reid & John Huband: <a href="http://www.springthyme.co.uk/1030/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Freewheeling Now</a>.

Here's a link to a site about <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-Brooksbank/49120541063/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mary Brooksbank</a> and another: <a href="http://www.dundeewomenstrail.org.uk/stories.php?id=18 " rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dundee Womens Trail</a>.

The origins of the song are made clear in an interview held in the archives of the Scool of Scottish Studies. An Interview with Mary Brooksbank by Hamish Henderson - SA 1968.317. School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh.

Mary Brooksbank: And then inside work (in the mills), they used to sing the Jute Mill song you know and when I grew up I put the verses to it. They used to go aroond (singing): 'the mill's gaen fest, the puir wee shifters canna get a rest .

Hamish Henderson: And how much of that was what they were singing in the mill and how much did you add to it?

Mary Brooksbank: Only the ditty, 'Oh dear me, the mill's gaen fest, the puir wee shifters…' . The verses are all mine. And that verse, 'to feed and cled my bairnie' was brought to me by a lassie who was worried. It wis hard lines if ye hid an illigitimate child and you had to pay for it aff that meagre wage, you know what I mean, and she used to say, oh I wish the day was done. And eh, tell me her troubles, her trachles, what she hid tae dae for her bairn and that, nae help that sort o' thing, and that brought that tae mind. And then I used to think on my own aboot how ill divided the world wis. My mother put me into service for a period; tried to make me genteel you know. She gave me a lovely outfit but it didna suit me, it was the worst thing she could have did because I saw right away the contrast between their homes and ours, you know, thons o the gentry and ours.

Oh Dear Me/ Jute Mill Song

THE HUT ON STAFFIN ISLAND/ THE LONE BUSH

A couple of fine hornpipes - the first a fairly recent composition by accordionist Phil Cunningham, and the second a powerful tune by the Irish/American fiddler Ed Reavy that John picked up a few years back. 

Billy Ross and John Martin are two of the finest musicians on the Scottish scene. As two founder members of OSSIAN they toured extensively at home and abroad and released several highly acclaimed albums. This album of songs and music is the first to bring them together as a duo. 

John Martin was also a member of the innovative Edinburgh based band Easy Club and he now tours regularly as a member of the Tannahill Weavers. 
Fiddles, cello, whistle, bodhran, viola & vocals

Billy Ross now lives in Skye, plays solo and with other members of OSSIAN and appears at concerts, festivals and on radio and TV.
Vocals, guitar & dulcimer

Produced by Peter Shepheard. Recorded at Pier House. Engineered by Peter Haigh.
Front sleeve photo by David Paterson: the snow covered peaks of Beinn Damh, Maol Cheonn-Dearg and Sgorr Ruadh south of Loch Torridon in Wester Ross.

Special thanks to Flora MacNeil for Braigh Loch Iall; to Davy Stuart for Bold Navvy Man; to Dr John MacInnes for help with the gaelic songs.

The Hut On Staffin Island: The Lone Bush

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