song sketch... 
video: http://vimeo.com/27674040



Tall Tall Tales

Sitting in the Stern of a Boat (Mi 'm shuidh' an Deireadh Bata)
From the album Ossian - Ossian on Springthyme (SPRCD 1004).

This beautiful slow air was composed in the 18th century by the Rev. William McLeod and represents his thoughts as he sailed away from his native Bracadale in the Isle of Skye to take up a parish in Argyll. Taken from Captain Simon Fraser’s Knockie Collection of 1816. 

Ossian - named after the legendary 3rd century Celtic Bard and folk hero, was formed in 1976, and this was their first album of Scottish/Celtic music - released in 1997 on CD. The band went on to record a series of albums on their own 'Iona' label.

This song is from the Springthyme CD Ossian: <a href="http://www.springthyme.co.uk/1004/" target="_parent">OSSIAN</a>.

Ossian: Sitting in the Stern of a Boat

Jim Reid - a man who many will consider as one of Scotland's finest folksingers - passed away on Monday 6th July 2009 after a long illness. His contribution to Scotland's singing tradition has been immense and, in 2005, he was voted Scots Singer of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards. His love of the poetry of Tayside and Angus and, in particular, his inspired setting to music of poems by Violet Jacob and Helen Cruickshank have given us a lasting legacy. His setting of Violet Jacob's Wild Geese (or Norland Wind) has become a classic of the folk song repertoire. 

It was at Jim's suggestion that some of the musicians from the regular sessions at Arbroath's Foundry Bar got together, entered and won the 1971 Ceilidh Band competition at the Kinross Festival - and so was born the hugely influential and highly enjoyable Foundry Bar Band who played at festivals, ceilidhs and dances for nearly another 30 years. Jim had already issued a couple of albums with the Foundry Bar Band (http://www.springthyme.co.uk/1007) but it was his solo 'Wild Geese' album (http://www.springthyme.co.uk/1015), first issued in 1984, that established him as one of Scotland's finest singers.

"Far abune the Angus straths I saw the wild geese flee;
A lang, lang skein o beatin wings wi their heids toward the sea."

Set to music by Jim, this was originally written as a poem by Violet Jacob in 1915. The song is also known under the alternative title Norland Wind.

1: "Oh tell me fit was on yer road, ye roarin Norland wind?
As ye come blawin frae the land that's never frae ma mind.
Ma feet they traivel England but I'm deein for the North."
"Ma man, I saw the siller tides rin up the Firth o Forth."
 
2: "Aye wind, I ken them weel eneuch an fine they fa and rise,
And fain I'd feel the creepin mist on yonder shore that lies.
But tell me as ye pass them by, fit saw ye on the way?"
"Ma man, I rocked the rovin gulls that sail abin the Tay."
 
3: "Bit saw ye naethin leein wind afore ye come tae Fife?
For there's muckle lyin 'yont the Tay that's mair tae me nor life."
"Ma man, I swept the Angus braes that ye hivna trod for years."
"Oh wind, forgie a hameless loon that canna see for tears."
 
4: "And far abin the Angus straths I saw the wild geese flee,
A lang, lang skein o beatin wings wi their heids toward the sea,
And aye their cryin voices trailed ahint them on the air."
"Oh wind, hae mercy, haud your wheesht for I daurna listen mair."

Scots Words:
The poem is written in the Angus dialect of Scots. fit - what, frae - from, deein - dying, traivel - travel, eneuch - enough, muckle - much, mair - more. "Haud yer wheesht" in the last line is an expression you would use to a friend or child, telling them to be quiet/stop talking.

Translation: Scots words anglicised - but please sing the Scots! 

1: "Oh tell me what was on your road, you roaring Norland wind?
As you come blowing from the land that's never from my mind.
My feet they travel England but I'm dying for the North."
"My man, I saw the silver tides run up the Firth o Forth."
 
2: "Oh wind, I ken them well enough and fine they fall and rise,
And fain I'd feel the creeping mist on yonder shore that lies.
But tell me as ye pass them by, what saw ye on the way?"
"My man, I rocked the roving gulls that sail above the Tay."
 
3: "But saw ye nothing, lying wind, before ye came to Fife?
For there's much lying beyond the Tay that's more to me than life."
"My man, I swept the Angus braes that you havn't trod for years."
"Oh wind, forgive a homeless lad that cannot see for tears."
 
4: "And far above the Angus straths I saw the wild geese flee,
A long, long skein of beating wings with their heads toward the sea,
And aye their crying voices trailed behind them on the air."
"Oh wind, have mercy, hold your tongue for I dare not listen more."

The Angus straths are farmland between the Grampian mountains of highland Perthshire and the Firth of Tay. Fife lies between the Tay to the north and the Firth of Forth to the south.

Jim Reid - I Saw The Wild Geese Flee

The Wild Geese / Norland Wind

Jim Reid: The Wild Geese/ Norland Wind

Tattie Jock is a song dating from the 1820s and tells of the transportation to Botany Bay of several men from the farm of Craigie in Fife, Scotland. The farmer had caught the farmworkers - horse ploughmen - stealing potatoes. He called in the police and this resulted in a fight between the police and the men. The men were taken to court and transported for 14 years to the hardships of slavery in Australia.
  
Recorded by Peter Shepheard from the singing of Archie Webster, Strathkinness. Recorded 17 June 1968 (68.2.34) & 14 Sep 1971 at Peat Inn (71.3). Transcribed and adapted Peter Shepheard. © Springthyme Music 1968. Published in the Scottish Folksinger. Collins (1973). Also recorded from Eck Harley of Cupar 16 May 1968 (68.2.29). 

The Sound Cloud track here starts with a recording of Pete Shepheard leading the song with chorus made at the FifeSing Traditional Singing Festival in May 2011. This is followed by the archive recordings of Eck Harley and Archie Webster edited together.

1: Ye aa hae heard o Tattie Jock,
Likewise o Mutton Peggie,
They had a fairm in the North o Fife,
An the name o it wis Craigie.

Chorus:
	Singin ah riddle aye, roo rum di do,
	Ah riddle aye, roo rum day.

2: There were ten pair upon that place,
Likewise ten able men;
It’s five they gaed tae kinnle the fire,
An the ither five oot tae scran.

3: Three month we saired wi Tattie Jock
An weel did we agree,
Till we fund oot that the tattie shed,
Could be opened wi the bothy key.

4: We aa gaed in tae the tattie shed,
Oor bags were hardly full,
When Tattie Jock in ahint the door,
Cries, “Aye, ma lads, stand still!”

5: The first he got wis Jimmy Marr,
The next wis Willie Doo;
There wis Jimmy Grey an Wull Moncur,
An Jimmy Pethrie flew.

6: Next day some o us were drivin dung,
An some were at the mill;
But better we’d been at the ploo,
Upon Pitlootie Hill.

7: They sent for ten big policemen,
But nine there only cam;
It dinged them for tae tak’s that nicht,
Us bein ten able men.

8: Johnny Grey wis the hemaist lad,
The best lad o us aa;
He jined a man o war ship at Leith,
So’s he need na stand the law.

9: When we were gettin oor sentences,
We aa stood roond and roond;
But when we heard o the fourteen years,
Oor tears cam rollin doon.

10: When Tattie Jock he heard o this,
He cried an grat fu sore;
A thousand guineas he wad pay,
If that wad clear oor score.

11: A bag o gold he did produce,
Tae pay it there an then;
But the lawyer only told him, 
Money wouldna clear his men.

12: As we were bein mairched up through Perth,
We heard the news boys say,
“It’s hard tae see sic able men,
Rade aff tae Botany Bay.”

13: When we arrive in Botany Bay,
Some letters we will send,
Tae tell oor friends the hardships,
We endure in a foreign land.
	Singin ah riddle aye, roo rum di do,
	Ah riddle aye, roo rum day.

Archie Webster: This is a story which happened quite a number of years ago when the Clydesdales used to draw the ploughs - the swing plough, steered by the skill o the ploomen o Fife. On Craigie fairm there were ten pair of these animals, the ploughman’s pride. These ten men worked these horses with skill but they were subject tae the failings of all flesh and, as wages wasnae very big, they used tae help their selves a bit fae the fairm produce. One day they were caught. Theft was a terrible crime at that time – a man could be hanged for stealing a sheep. Well, the ploomen o Craigie were caught stealing tatties be the fairmer, a man who boasted the nickname Tattie Jock. This is the ballad of Craigie.

Research at the Scottish Records Office reveals that the farms of Craigie and Pusk beside Leuchars were farmed by two brothers in the 1820s. They grew and dealt in potatoes - hence the byname of Tattie Jock. The potatoes were carted to Tayport for distribution to Edinburgh and Dundee by sea. They also rented a shed at St Andrews harbour.

Links:
Springthyme Records: www.springthyme.co.uk
FifeSing Traditional Singing Festival: www.springthyme.co.uk/fifesing/

Tattie Jock

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

PIRN-TAED JOCKIE

Sung by Jock Duncan of Pitlochry on Autumn Harvest ah007: Old Songs & Bothy Ballads 5: Grand to Be a Working Man. Recorded at the Fife Traditional Singing Festival May 2008.

A tongue-twister in the broad Scots from the pen of George Bruce Thomson, one time trainee chemist in New Deer, Aberdeenshire and a prolific composer of songs. George clearly loved to make full use of the local broad Scots vocabulary — the Doric. According to Jock's mother, he sometimes tested out his songs on the customers for approval. Jock is sure most of his songs were lost or given away. Gavin Greig included several of George Thomson's songs in his weekly Buchan Observer articles around 1910. This songs is number 1220 in the Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection published by Mercat Press (Volume 6, 1995). The tune is given by Thomson as The Girl I Left Behind Me for the verse and The White Cockade for the chorus.

1: Oh fin I wis a little wee pirn-taed loonie, [pigeon-toed lad
I was aye caad silly little Jockie, [called
Ae nicht I wis sittin on my grannie's window sill
Eatin sweeties oot a broon paper pyockie; [poke/bag
By cam a lassie an she offered me a kiss,
A thing I wid never think o scornin,
But she bolted wi ma sweeties, dang my heid through the windae,
An ma grannie tellt me that neist mornin: [next
Oh never tie a kettle tull a big dog's tail,
Nor tak a drink o water oot a bucket or a pail,
For it's plain tae unnerstan as a bawbee for a bap, [halfpenny; bread roll
That the reidest cheekit aipples aye are gotten at the tap;
A laddie aince pit snuff in his aul grannie's tea,
But he drunk it up himsel 'fore he noticed, so they say,
But I'll wager tuppence happeny, though it's aa I caa ma ain, [call, own
The nickum never tigget wi her sneeshin mill again. [rogue; tampered; snuff mill

2: Oh it's a sair thing love fen it hits ye on the weskit, [waistcoat
Fen ye think ye're getting on sae fine man,
But och hon-a-rie, tae fin oot that ye've been coortin, [alas
Anidder man's lassie aa the time man;
Love is like a jujube covered ower wi sugar, 
Anidder lad changes it tae sooricks aa thegidder, [sorrel, ie sourness
For it's on ae side like the hantle o a jug, [handle of
An it's caul kail early in the mornin. [cold cabbage
If ye ever get a smack fae Cupid's little arra,
It's like hurlin in a prambulator doon the hill o Barra,
An if she winnae hae ye, it's like lyin on the rack,
Wi a thoosan maggie-mony-feets a-crawlin doon yer back; [centipedes
It's aye the best sheep that gets smoored among the snaw, [smothered
Fin ye're fishing it's the best troot that aye wins awa,
An if ye see a lassie that ye think ye'd like tae pet,
That's jist the very een ye may be sure ye winnae get.

3: Oh I aince went a ball in the aul toon o Ribble,
An I never saw sae mony bonnie dawties, [darlings
Hooch! up tae yer een among marmalade an treacle,
It was happy as a craw among the tatties;
Big lassies, sma lassies, short lassies, tall lassies,
Aa kin o lassies fit tae blin ye,
Bit the flooer o them aa wis little Polly Proctor,
The lassie I was forced tae leave behind me.
For I aince went tae my auntie's wi a bag o yallow haddocks,
The idder loonies laiddert me an full'd the bag wi puddocks, [beat; frogs
It was sair, sair tae thole, I wad say withoot a doot, [endure; doubt
But this time I thocht that I wid greet heech oot; [cry right out
For Polly said she'd mairry me an nae anidder body,
An' fin I kissed Polly well she didna gie a cheep, [sound
Noo she's ran awa wi a lantern-chaftit sodger, [long-jawed
Wi a face that wis as yalla as a bilt Swaddish neep. [yellow; boiled; turnip

4: Oh ye never saw a rickle like my aul horse Dobbin, [bag of bones
Ye could hing up yer jecket on his hurdies, [haunches
He wis broke in the win an fin he began tae rin, [breathless
He made a racket like a dizzen hurdy-gurdies; 
I took him tae the market and I swappit fair ower, [swapped
Wi a Balaclava chairger fae the sooth man,
But I didnae wait the blockan-ale though I wis unco dry, [the drink to seal the deal
For fear they mebbe finin oot the truth man.
For here I thocht I'd really deen a smairt trick noo, [done
But sic a coupin ower the tailie I never did expeck, [overturning, inheritance
Fae a fraisy aul mannie wi a roly-poly facie, [talkative
Like a ginger-breid rabbitie wi a clootie roon its neck; 
I took it tae the market, an I swappit, dae ye see,
My ain horse Dobbin that was blin upon ae ee, [blind in one eye
Oh I cam hame fae the market jist as drouthy as a saith, [coalfish
Wi a fiddle-heedit jigger that was blin upon them baith. [oddity, blind in both eyes

This a track on the album Old Songs & Bothy Ballads 5: <a href="http://www.springthyme.co.uk/ah07/" target="_self">Grand to Be a Working Man</a>.

Jock Duncan: Pirn-Taed Jockie

Koo Nimo is one of the last true veterans of highlife roots and palm-wine music, which dominated Ghana’s popular music scene throughout much of the twentieth century. Recorded in his backyard at home in Accra, expect acoustic guitars and rolling percussion all topped off with his gentle story-teller singing style.

Koo Nimo: Old Man Plants A Coconut Tree

"Paddy McInerney" sung by Hugh Doyle, Co Offaly. Recorded by Lewis Barfoot and Danielle Oxenham on 31.1.18.

Hugh met with the song collectors in early 2018. We met him with his family at their home in County Offaly and he shared a wide range of songs. Now in his 80’s he been travelling all his life. Had 14 children. Born Kinnetty, Co Offaly. He spend much of his life singing songs around the campfire, learning songs from his Uncles. We were lucky enough to hear him share a good many with us.

www.songcollectors.org 
www.lewisbarfoot.com

LYRICS
Oh my name it is Pad McInarny
For a strange County Down man was I
In the search of a wife I went travelling 
To the old fairs of old Taramee

Oh the first man I met was red Danny
He invited me down for my tea
He invited me up in his wagon
Where I knew there was welcome for me

Oh the first they drew down it was Daelins
And the second t’was due unto me
For you know she can hawk of a basket
And can sell her tarpaulin as well

For the first week of marriage was lovely 
And the second we could not agree
The third week she wore on old trousers
Oh and then came the bus over me

All ye young fellas looking for a booking
Let ye all go to old Taramee
There’ll be swapping their piebalds and wagons
There’ll be flashing their daughters to thee

What is really special about song collecting is that the old songs are handed down by different families with slightly different lyrics and melody’s and it’s lovely to capture the variety of these old songs. Keeping the legacy of a strong oral tradition alive.

KEEP TRADITIONAL MUSIC ALIVE

Paddy McInerney sung by Hugh Doyle

Taken from Sam Lee's debut album, Ground of Its Own. Released June 2012.

Sam’s Mercury Award nominated 2012 debut album is a work several years in conception which brought together a multitude of experiences and influences for a musician who has cut an unique course in his artistic development. This 8-track release mixed by the legendary John Wood (of Nick Drake fame) comprises material gleaned from years of research and exploration into the forgotten songs and sounds of the British Isles.

Goodbye My Darling

Springthyme is a record label dedicated to presenting Scotland's living tradition in song and music. Founded in 1974 by musician and singer Pete Shepheard, the label has introduced many fine singers, musicians to the world of recorded music. The very first album was recorded during the weekend traditional music festival held in Kinross in 1973 with musicians including Aly Bain and Tom Anderson and the Shetland Fiddlers and the first recording of ballad singer Stanley Robertson of Aberdeen. Other artistes on Springthyme include Jim Reid, The Foundry Bar Band, Ossian, Jock Duncan, Bill Black, Duncan Williamson, Lizzie Higgins, Jim Crawford, Tom Hughes, John Watt & Davey Stewart, Iain McLachlan and many more including a CD from Pete's own band Shepheard, Spiers & Watson. Springthyme has also issued recordings from their field recordings archive in cooperation with the Musical Traditions label.