St Andrew's Day 2018

Saint Andrew the Apostle by Artus Wolffort

After last week's excellent St Andrew's Day session we return to a themeless evening this Friday where anything goes as long as it's acoustic and legal (although we have had songs in the past the singing of which might have got you locked up only a few years ago).

MC Colin kicked us off in appropriately Scottish mood with the poem St. Andrew's Day-A Toast by Jean Blewett which he put to a familiar tune which escapes me at the moment.

We were joined for the first time in several years by Chris S who didn't sing on previous occasions. This time he started off with his own part-finished work, Be The One To Turn To, and continued with borrowed words, singing Michael Row The Boat Ashore (Roud 11975), Drink Up Thy Zider (Adge Cutler) and Kumbaya.

It would be very easy for me to go through a variety of Scottish songs we heard through the evening, and there were plenty as you will see, but as I pointed out in the report two weeks ago, St Andrew is patron of a lot of places, professions and other things apart from Scotland, so let's go on a partial tour of those.

Fishermen and fishmongers were represented by Mike with the Mingulay Boat Song (Sir Hugh S Roberton) which he acquired from the late Robbie MacGregor, a one-time denizen of this club, whose family apparently owned an island in that part of the world. Mike informed us that since there is no port on Mingulay, the song referred to fishermen hauling their boats up onto the beach.

Steve C sang Archie Fisher's The Final Trawl.

We might stretch this to The Bonny Ship The Diamond (Roud 2172) also sung by Steve C who was with us for a third week running - great to see you Steve! It's a stretch of course because they are "fishing for the whale" or should that be mammal-ing?

Textile workers were well represented:

• Derek with A Bhean Ad Thall A Rinn An Gaire which is a waulking song; a song sung by a group of women while waulking or fulling woollen cloth which has been soaked in urine. You can see a video of waulking (to a different song) here.
• Simon with The Wark O' The Weavers (David Shaw)
• Simon again with The Handweaver And The Factory Maid (Roud 17771). Usually said to be from Lancashire or Ireland but given that Simon got this version from the singing of Sylvia Barnes and it mentions Anderston in Glasgow I suggest it scores as half Scottish
• ...and again with Nancy Whisky (Roud 883)

Singers were championed by Geoff with Ewan MacColl's Freeborn Man. Then came Colin with Air Fa La La Lo.

Unusually, I don't think a miner emerged from underground all evening.

Simon found some pregnant Scots lassies lurking in his songs:

• A definite case of rape with Laird Of The Dainty Dounby (Roud 864)
• And a sad case of love, loss and suggested abortion with Geordie (Roud 90, Child 209)

Farm workers were fair game for Geoff with The Muckin' O' Geordie's Byre (Roud 2137). On this theme Steve C added Country Life (Roud 1752).

I was quite disappointed that we didn't have any songs (as far as I could detect) about protection from sore throats, convulsions, fever or whooping cough.

The final song of the evening fell to Geoff with The Lewis Bridal Song (John Bannerman, Baron Bannerman of Kildonan, translated from Gaelic by Sir Hugh S Roberton).

Here's a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 7, of whom 7 performed)