Like many other posts, this is a hotch-potch of information very loosely tied by a single theme (more often than not tied up with a shoogly knot). But, while many posts have been lovingly mined from a selection of sources, this one derives from one ancient article: 'Popular Rhymes of Forfarshire,' published in the Aberdeen Journal Notes & Queries, 1912, written by David Grewar.
Much of Grewar's material was sourced from Robert Chambers' venerable Popular Rhymes of Scotland (3rd edition published 1870), a wonderful compendium of nationwide folklore. Other bits have evidently come from our local Victorian historians Alexander Warden and Andrew Jervise. Links to my two previous posts on local rhymes can be found at the end of this article.
Unlike many other pieces of folklore, many rhymes which have survived have only done that by accident and are passed down or recorded in fragmentary form, and we can only guess at their original context. At best, they provide a fleeting glimpse into long-vanished places, events or practices. Even when they stir up more questions than answers, these short snippets, like mosaic pieces, can be very evocative. The benison or standing toast given by the deacon of the craft of weavers of Arbroath at their meetings warmly extended good fortune to other occupations which were important to the burgh:
The life o' man, the death o' fish,the shuttle, soil and ploo;corn, horn, linen, yarn,lint an' tarry oo!
To the west of Arbroath are East Haven and West Haven in Panbride parish, and the following rhyme extols the virtues of a particular ale-house, whose staple tipple bestowed upon its drinker a particular keeness of thought (not usually the case with alcohol):
East Ha'en's ale's gude,West Hae'en's ale's strang,But Eppie Ramsay's aleMaks me think lang
The following dittay would have fitted nicely into my previous article about children's games - 'Bairn Sangs' (link below), had I known about it at the time.
I set my foot on Airlie's green,An' Airlie daurna tak me;I canna get time to steer my brose,For Airlie's trying to catch me.
This snippet of verse is explained as part of a game played by children in Brechin. The Ogilvy family of Airlie Castle apparently owned a small plot of land in Brechin. In the game, a chosen child stood in a marked off piece of land, Airlie's Acre, and tried to grab the other children who darted in and out of this plot. When a child was caught, he or she took the place of the first child and tried to catch the others.
 |
| Forter Castle, Glenisla |
Another children's rhyme from Brechin is below. Prior to 1845, licensed beggars paraded the city's streets each Thursday, loudly asking for alms. The reference to Friday is because it was a popular day for weddings.
Fuirsday's the puir's day,Friday's the bride's day,And Saturday we get to play.
The children of Dundee in the early nineteenth century used to taunt a poor carter in the burgh who was a target because of his strange appearance. He was called Harrow because of his ling and strange looking teeth. His horses were always poor looking specimens. A surviving anecdote syas he was suprised when a horse he bought in the country was able to distinguish between oats and sawdust.
Will Harrow,Deil a marrow.
The following verse is said to have been composed by an eccentric man named William Candow, who collected and sold eggs in the Kilry district of Glenisla:
I gaed aboot frae toon tae toonAn' ca'd the Derrys up an' doon,The Cotton too an' Mailnacraig,I got my ca' but fient an egg.
Unfortunately William perished in a tragic accident. The following article is from The Glasgow Herald, 31st December, 1855, summarising a report from a Dundee newspaper:
I'll be lost in Isla water,I'll be found in Isla stream;Bonnie Bawbie's me forgotten,Man an' horse she's sent me nane.
The following geographical rhyme makes limited sense (to me at least). Grewar states that it reflects the humourous view of an inhabitant of west Angus regarding the prospects or the principal characteristics of those who live in the four compass points from where he lives. (I believe the word 'fidgin' may relate to the word 'fidgity'):
East for brose,Wast for religion,Sooth for sair wark,An' north for fidgin'.
Why the different areas should be characterised in the rhyme is unknown. I can only guess that the 'sair work' in the south refers to the labour in the mills and factories of Dundee.
There were probably once a large number of local rhymes relating to the weather, as being foretold from the local landscape, but most of these have now vanished. The following comes from Lundie near the mouth of the Tay:
When the sands o' Barrie cry - it's rain,The Hard o' Keiller - it's frost again.
David Grewer adds this explanation: 'When country people some distance inland from this part of the coast hear the sound of the breakers in the direction of Barry - that is to gthe southward - they expect a freshet, or rain in the winter season. On the contrary, if the sound comes from the direction of the mouth of the KeillerBurn, to the northward, hard weather is to be expected. In other inland parts of the county a somewhat similar belief prevails. If on a winter evening, the sound of a southerly running stream comes from the north, the common remark is, "The soon o' the water's up; it's to be frost." If on the contrary the sound emanates from the south, "The soond o' the water's doon; it's to be fresh" is the remark, if frost then revails.'
Many rhymes particularly in the east and north-east Scotland are attributed to the rather gloomy predictions of Thomas the Rhymer and the following was found in the area of Carmoustie:
The braes o' Fettermore,Hae been a guid ship-shore.
An alternative version ran:
The braes o' Fettermore,Again shall be a guid ship-shore.
We finish off with an addition to the rhyme already previously given about the great hero William Wallace, who is supposed to have campaigned in the region north of Dundee:
Wallace pitched his camp on Clatto Hill,
and ground his corn at Philaw's Mill.
An alternative verse runs:
Wallace encamped at Tothil Hill,
And ground his corn at Falla Mill.
Never mind the fact that Wallace, in all likelihood, never did any succh thing!
Previous Related Posts
William Wallace Was a Dundee Schoolboy
No comments:
Post a Comment