Local Songs and Poetry

IF you want to find out more about the local history of Kintyre or post some interesting stories then here is the place! All contributors welcome! You can also check out the Historic Kintyre and Down Memory Lane websites.

Postby hugh » Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:51 am

Listened to 2 or 3 of the "Wild Sarachs" songs....brilliant strings and beautiful vocals. But ( and please don't
take this personally, anyone...it's only an opinion on the particular songs I listened to) just a tad too maudlin
to be enjoyable. I bet the Sarachs themselves sound reallly good live though.

Oh, and the C.L. song? Nice try at updating it, but maybe it should just have been left buried with the swinging
sporran. Did somebody mention a free tin of shortbread?
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Postby Sheik Yir Erse » Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:16 pm

My friend is a huge Pogues fan, and Ewan McColls "Dirty Old Town" is about somewhere in Lancashire or Yorkshire I think. I also used to think it was about somewhere Scottish, until he put me right!

I know it is regularly sung by a prominent member of the CTA, in relation to C'town :wink:

Anyway, who would meet their love by the gasworks wall in C'town? :shock: :lol: :lol:
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Postby bill » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:28 pm

Sheik Yir Erse wrote:My friend is a huge Pogues fan, and Ewan McColls "Dirty Old Town" is about somewhere in Lancashire or Yorkshire I think. I also used to think it was about somewhere Scottish, until he put me right!

I know it is regularly sung by a prominent member of the CTA, in relation to C'town :wink:

Anyway, who would meet their love by the gasworks wall in C'town? :shock: :lol: :lol:


"Dirty old town" is about Salford.

I was hoping someone would bite when I said I thought it was about Campbeltown :wink: :lol:

Gasworks wall was on the corner of The Roading/Albynn Avenue,going back to 50/60s.


Tell you a story about the song..........I was in Mulvanneys Irish bar in Church St. Station in Orlando many years ago.There was two guys on guitar and singin,I went up to them and said "you do'nt know many Irish Songs.The reply was "we only know 2 ,Dirty old town and Danny Boy".To which I replied "Dirty old town was written by a Scotsman about an English town so it's not an Irish song,so you only know 1 and that you'se are sh!te at" downed my beer and walked out. :lol: :lol: :lol:
I know my Summer'll never come
I know I'll cry until my dying day has come
Let the Winter roll along
I've got nothing left but song
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Postby LO » Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:53 pm

hugh wrote: please don't
take this personally, anyone... just a tad too maudlin
to be enjoyable.


No offence taken Hugh, but that's about as cheerful as we get!

Re: "that" song, we did it for a laugh one night and it kind of stuck.
Opportunity Kintyre asked if we would record the song as fund raiser for them, hence the CD.
To be honest, we reckoned before we did it that some people would have the same view as you, others would slaughter us for daring to meddle with a "classic" but equally there would be some that liked it and this has proven to be the case. Fortunately for Opportunity Kintyre it was popular enough to sell almost 500 copies so in terms of our pledge to them, it was "job done".

Personally, I don't mind the odd wee bit of shortbread from time to time although I certainly couldn't handle a whole tin........
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Postby bill » Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:05 am

I met my love by the gas works wall....corner of Albyn Ave. and The Roading
Dreamed a dream by the old canal.......Pit head to The Roading, via Hillside and Millknowe
Kissed a girl by the factory wall............Clothing Factory
Dirty old town.....................................Campbeltown
Dirty old town.....................................Campbeltown



Heard a siren from the docks..............The Auld Quay
Saw a train set the night on fire...........Campbeltown to Machrihanish railway
Smelled the spring on the smoky wind....Springbank Distillery
Dirty old town......................................Campbeltown
Dirty old town......................................Campbeltown

Though we know it is not,it could have been :lol:
I know my Summer'll never come
I know I'll cry until my dying day has come
Let the Winter roll along
I've got nothing left but song
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Postby Beachcomber » Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:46 am

general jack o'niell wrote:the canal must have filled in a good bit over the years, we could jump it easily even as kids, except sweltered of course, i seem to remember him losing a shoe? it always smelled a bit too, surely there are pics of it somewhere, i've seen pics of a great aunt as a child taken at the mill dam.


There's still bits of it about, if you know where to look. Got a photo-trip planned for next month to try and record some of the better bits. The mill dam photo is on the Machrihanish website, I think.

Some interesting stuff on the canal here.
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Postby Sweltered » Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:09 pm

I've seen a map of it's route somewhere, and there are still fairly long stretches of it visible
OOH did they knock down McCaigs folly.....
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Postby Beachcomber » Sun Oct 21, 2007 2:41 pm

Sweltered wrote:I've seen a map of it's route somewhere, and there are still fairly long stretches of it visible

Yes, there's a map in The Campbeltown Book. it's under the section on the railway but also shows the canal. With a bit of work you can trace much of the route on a modern OS map.
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Postby general jack o'niell » Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:17 pm

its easily followed, i remember tracking it all the way from the milldam when i was a lot younger, sweltered was probably told he couldn't come as he was too wee, him and his comrade joe, or was he joe and it was jock?

anyway we followed it for miles or so it seemed me and "gums" erchie, toash, dedalus, cuzzin john and cuzzin zarrah jnr. i expect its possible to track the same stretch even now, but even over thirty yrs ago it waas never wider than 6-8 foot from bank to bank, or fence to fence, the canal itself being maybe only 4 ft wide

i'll need to borrow the copy of the book i bought the father in law when it came out, i was looking at another copy of it before we wentto the stranglers gig and got into a heated discussion regarding the route of longrow south with an inebriate home on holiday from australia
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Postby bill » Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:34 pm

Ye Boys o Callieburn


The Mitchell Family of Campbeltown in Kintyre (father, mother, daughter and son-in-law) were invited to the 1968 festival on the recommendation of Hamish Henderson who had come across Campbeltown butcher and amateur folksong collector Willie Mitchell in 1956 during a lecture tour in Argyll organised by the WEA.
The Mitchells’ singing of several Kintyre songs provided a most memorable highlight of that gathering in 1968 - two songs in particular - Nancy’s Whisky and the local Kintyre emigration song Ye Boys o Callieburn (Roud 6932) that he had collected from Mr Reid, the farmer at Callieburn. Willie Scott was also a guest that same year and, after a wonderful informal Saturday afternoon ceilidh in the Sun Lounge of the Angus Hotel and with the texts from Willie Mitchell, he quickly took both songs into his repertoire.
The small farming community of Callieburn is in the hills a few miles north of Campbeltown and the song tells of emigration from an area that suffered hardship in the 1830s and 1840s - especially during the ‘hungry 40s’ when the West Highlands had a famine almost as severe as Ireland’s.



John Blair and I hae taen the notion,
Tae cross the wide Atlantic ocean;
Rab MacKinlay’s gaen afore us,
He will keep us aa in order.

Hame fareweel, freens fareweel,
And ye boys o Callieburn, fare ye weel.

We leave the land of our forefathers,
Knowing not what may befall us;
America, ’twas thee that wiled us,
For tae leave oor agèd parents.

We leave the land where we were born,
Oor parents standing all forlorn;
This is a song of oor own composing,
Comrades dear, come join the chorus.

Machrihanish, bright and bonnie,
It’s o’er thy beach the waves are rolling;
Machrihanish I adore thee,
Never more shall I be o’er thee.

Callieburn I’ll mind thee ever,
From your lands I now must sever;
May thy people dwell in thee for ever,
But may they gain a greater favour.

Now in America we have arrivèd,
And of oor freends we are deprivèd;
We leave them aa behind us sighing,
Maybe yet we’ll meet in Zion.

John Blair and I hae taen the notion,
Tae cross the wide Atlantic ocean;
This is a song of oor own composing,
Comrades dear come join the chorus.

Hame fareweel, freens fareweel,
And ye boys o Callieburn, fare ye weel;
Hame fareweel, freens fareweel,
And ye boys o Callieburn, fare ye weel.


Link to the page where I found the above song.

http://www.springthyme.co.uk/album42/42songs.html
I know my Summer'll never come
I know I'll cry until my dying day has come
Let the Winter roll along
I've got nothing left but song
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Postby general jack o'niell » Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:38 am

how does the tune to that go? and no its not a stupid question, i have a tune of sorts going thru my head as i read it, just wondered what style and tempo it was in?
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Postby Mary G » Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:16 am

Great find Bill ... ta for that!

Maybe at the song-writing festival weekend there could be a wee spot to rediscover songs like this, so that we know the melodies, and delivery better. Make passing on local songs a stronger card than maybe it is.

I know that the focus is on "writing" - and so new stuff. But it would be nice to think that the creative process can be assisted by a wee bit of historical context, and inspiration!

Cheers again, Bill
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Postby bill » Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:42 pm

Thanks Mary,

Found this one on a truly interesting site,"Kintyre at war",will post link below.

IN CAMPBELTOWN ONCE MORE.

Tune --- THE HOLY GROUND.

Fare thee well my Nancy - for we must gang awa'
the harbour light is on our beam and soon we'll cross the bar
and I must part from you my love,the lassie I adore,
but soon I hope we'll meet again,in Campbeltown once more.

Chorus
In Campbeltown once more - soon I hope we'll meet again in Campbeltown once more.

Now we are passed the bar lads,we are punching through the bay
the Barra light is fading fast and we are taking spray,
yes,we are taking spray my lads,but worse seas we'll endure
before we can return again to Campbeltown once more.

Chorus
To Campbeltown once more - before we can return again to Campbeltown once more.

At last the wreck is sighted - the tow ropes all made fast
through mighty seas we take the strain - for Campbeltown at last
for Campbeltown again my lads where good times are in store
and gales or fair we'll soon be there, in Campbeltown once more.

Chorus
In Campbeltown once more - and gale or fair we'll soon be there,in Campbeltown once more.

Now the storm is over and we are safe at last
French Point we have in view the Davaar light we have passed
the Davaar light we have passed my lads we'll make the harbour sure
and soon we'll have our head ropes in,in Campbeltown once more.

Chorus
In Campbeltown once more - and soon we'll have our head ropes in,in Campbeltown once more.

And when we get ashore lads,we'll take a drink or four
we'll drink to friends and shipmates lost with girls we do adore
with the girls that we adore lads and who could ask for more
now that we are safe from u-boats harm,in Campbeltown once more.

Chorus
In Campbeltown once more - now that we are safe from u- boats harm,in Campbeltown once more.




http://www.scribd.com/doc/1461313/Kinty ... -1939-1945
I know my Summer'll never come
I know I'll cry until my dying day has come
Let the Winter roll along
I've got nothing left but song
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Postby general jack o'niell » Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:57 pm

manys the new year as a child i sat and listened to cecil finn sing that song, accompanying himself on guitar, he could fair bash them oot, never the most cultured of players but more than able to play along and sing, him on guitar and vocal and the late billy wareham on guitar and davie leg on accordian or harmonica, thats where i learned to play the moothie and my oldest brother the guitar, new years eve parties, the company more important than the drink.

great stuff, carradale glen and sweet island davaar were among the others in his repetoire
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Postby Campbell A » Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:19 am

bill wrote:Ye Boys o Callieburn


The Mitchell Family of Campbeltown in Kintyre (father, mother, daughter and son-in-law) were invited to the 1968 festival on the recommendation of Hamish Henderson who had come across Campbeltown butcher and amateur folksong collector Willie Mitchell in 1956 during a lecture tour in Argyll organised by the WEA.
The Mitchells’ singing of several Kintyre songs provided a most memorable highlight of that gathering in 1968 - two songs in particular - Nancy’s Whisky and the local Kintyre emigration song Ye Boys o Callieburn (Roud 6932) that he had collected from Mr Reid, the farmer at Callieburn. Willie Scott was also a guest that same year and, after a wonderful informal Saturday afternoon ceilidh in the Sun Lounge of the Angus Hotel and with the texts from Willie Mitchell, he quickly took both songs into his repertoire.
The small farming community of Callieburn is in the hills a few miles north of Campbeltown and the song tells of emigration from an area that suffered hardship in the 1830s and 1840s - especially during the ‘hungry 40s’ when the West Highlands had a famine almost as severe as Ireland’s.



John Blair and I hae taen the notion,
Tae cross the wide Atlantic ocean;
Rab MacKinlay’s gaen afore us,
He will keep us aa in order.

Hame fareweel, freens fareweel,
And ye boys o Callieburn, fare ye weel.

We leave the land of our forefathers,
Knowing not what may befall us;
America, ’twas thee that wiled us,
For tae leave oor agèd parents.

We leave the land where we were born,
Oor parents standing all forlorn;
This is a song of oor own composing,
Comrades dear, come join the chorus.

Machrihanish, bright and bonnie,
It’s o’er thy beach the waves are rolling;
Machrihanish I adore thee,
Never more shall I be o’er thee.

Callieburn I’ll mind thee ever,
From your lands I now must sever;
May thy people dwell in thee for ever,
But may they gain a greater favour.

Now in America we have arrivèd,
And of oor freends we are deprivèd;
We leave them aa behind us sighing,
Maybe yet we’ll meet in Zion.

John Blair and I hae taen the notion,
Tae cross the wide Atlantic ocean;
This is a song of oor own composing,
Comrades dear come join the chorus.

Hame fareweel, freens fareweel,
And ye boys o Callieburn, fare ye weel;
Hame fareweel, freens fareweel,
And ye boys o Callieburn, fare ye weel.


Link to the page where I found the above song.

http://www.springthyme.co.uk/album42/42songs.html


Great tae see the words tae that written oot, my mum's brother, John Morris, has sung this several times at family doos, always enjoy his version. He also sings "Nancy's Whisky" (my favourite) and Flora Loinachan(probably wrong spelling) and aways gives it laldy, great stuff.
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