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01
Come a' ye tramps an hawkin lads ye gaitherers o blaw,
That trump the country up and doon and come fae near and far,
I'll tell tae you some rovin tales o sichts that I hae seen,
Far off in Tay, the snowy north or doon by Gretna Green.
I hae seen the high Ben Nevis a towerin tae
the moon,
I've been by Crieff and Callander, and roon by bonny Doone,
I've seen Loch Nessie's silvery tide wi places ill tae ken,
Or up in tae the snowy North or Urquhart's fairy glen.
I hae daen my share o humphin wi the dockers
on the Clyde,
I've helped the Buckie fishers pu, the herrin ower the side,
I've helped tae big the michty brig that spans the Firth o
Forth,
And wi mony an Angus fairmers rig, I've plooed the bonny earth.
I hae aften lauched untae masel when traivellin
on the road,
Wi ma buchled sheen and blistered heels and ma face as broon
as a toad,
Wi lumps o breid and tattie scones and dads o braxie ham,
Never thinkin whaur I'm comin fae or whaur I'm micht be gang.
But I'm happy in the summer time, a'neath the
clear blue sky,
Never thinkin in the mornin whaur at nicht I'm gang tae lie,
In barn or byre or onywhere, dressin doon among the hay,
And if the weather treats my richt, I'll be happy ilka day.
But I think I'm gang tae Paddy's land, I'm makin
up ma mind,
For Scotland's greatly altered noo, and I canna raise the
wind,
But I will trust in providence, if providence will be true,
And I will sing o Erin's isle, when I come back tae you.
[GE] That's it, that's my version.
[TM] Great song.
[GE] It's a good song. Noo here's anither een,
'The Bleacher's Lassie', far did I see at? I think that's
a great song.
[TM] Before that, The Tramps and Hawkers version,
where did you get that.
[GE] Where did I get at? Oh, no, I canna tell
ye. Mebbe, it's slightly different fae Jimmy MacBeath's een.
[TM] I think so.
[GE] He tells ye he's aften doon by, by and
roon aboot, often doon by and roon aboot Stranraer, my business
taks me ilky where, I travel near and far. I'm often doon
by, far the devil did he say, somewey in roon aboot Stranraer,
my business tak's me everywhere, I travel near and far. And
aye, he his a slightly different version o it, but that's
my version, I canna tell ye. Affa some o Robbie Shepherd's
recordins possibly. Mm. The Bleachers Lassie, as lang as we're
at it, we'll dae it. Can we?
[TM] Yes.
[GE] I hinna got a key for at een. Okay?
02
...Ae summer's mornin as I went walkin,
Awa doon by the Broomie law,
It's there I met wi a fair young maiden,
She hid cheeks like the rose and her skin like sna.
Says I dear lassie, why dae ye wander,
A' by yer leen on the Broomielaw?
Indeed kind sir I'll will plainly tell ye,
I'm a bleacher lassie frae Kelvinhall.
Oh lassie, lassie, if ye'll gang wi me,
I'll dress ye up in fine satins braw,
Oh no, kind sir, it's the truth I'll tell ye,
I've a lad o my ain and he's far awa.
For saiven lang years I hae loo'd a sailor,
For saiven lang years he his been awa,
Anither saiven years I'll wait upon him,
And I'll bleach my claes here on Kelvinhall.
Oh lassie, lassie, ye dae remember,
On the ships that sailed by the Broomielaw,
And the sailor laddies that did their courtin,
Wi their bleachers lassie o Kelvinhall.
And lassie, lassie, ye hae been faithful,
And thocht on me when I wis far awa,
True hearts mun surely be rewarded,
And we'll pairt nae mair here on Kelvinhall.
So noo that pair they hae got mairried,
And they keep an ale hoose atween them twa,
And the sailor laddies they aye come drinkin,
At the bleachers lassie on Kelvinhall.
[GE] Sorry aboot the hitch.
[TM] Laughs.
[GE] No, the named the pubbie, efter the Bleachers
Lassie, they ca'd it the Bleachers Lassie.
[TM] That song was quite popular around here.
[GE] Oh aye, it wis affa popular here, and there's
anither een, the Dundee song, 'Magdalene Green', ye ken it
[TM] Oh yes.
[GE] Div ye, can ye get it fae somebody.
[TM] Well I don't know, the only person I know
that sings it is Jim Reid.
[GE] Oh, Joe Aiken sings. Fit wey does it go.
[Break in tape.]
Oh lassie, lassie, ye are hard herted
I wish yer fair face I nivver sa
For nicht and mornin my hairt's been achin
For the bleacher lassie o Kelvin Hall
[GE] Aye, sometimes I, ???
[TM] Where did you get the song.
[GE] Ah hah, my granny again, originally. That
was a favourite of hers.
[TM] Did she sing that verse as well.
[GE] Mm hm..
[TM] That last one.
[GE] The last een. Yes she sang that, yes she
did.
[Break in tape.]
03
Oh here I am, a stranger, just newly come from sea,
My ship she lies at anchor in the harbour o Dundee,
Your face it is the fairest that ever I hae seen,
Oh, fair maid will ye walk wi me down by the Magdalene Green.
Wi a roguey smile upon her lips, she smiled
at me and said,
Kind sir I'd go along with you, but you know I am afraid,
The paths they are so slippery and the night so cold and keen,
It widnae dae for me tae fa doon by the Magdalene Green.
Wi kind words and promises, alang with me she
went,
We rambled here, we rambled there, on love and pleasure bent,
And sometimes we would sit and talk about love's pleasant
scene,
I fear that maid had mony a fa, doon by the Magdalene Green.
But soon the time for parting came, my ship
hid hoisted sail,
No longer would I see my girl to tell her love's sweet tale,
So I said fareweel to auld Dundee where I hid happy been,
And she was left to walk alone down by the Magdalene Green.
One night while in my bunk I lay when my weary
watch was done,
I dreamt I was the father of a darling little son,
And in my dream his mother too was plainly tae be seen,
And she was weeping bitterly down by the Magdalene Green.
When next my ship puts in again, at the harbour
o Dundee,
I'll search the town all up and down until my girl I see,
And ask her to forgive me for the rascal I have been,
And we will make it up again down by the Magdalene Green.
So come a ye jolly sailor lads, take this advice
from me,
It's never slight, a poor young lass, for the sake of poverty,
To lightly love then sail away, is naether straight nor clean,
And never dae what I eens did down by the Magdalene Green.
[GE] That's it.
[TM] That's a very full version.
[GE] Well it's just the story of life again,
I suppose. It just goes on and on. Magdalene Green, it's a
lovely park I believe, well it's a lovers lane. Aye.
[TM] And where did you ?
[GE] Well it was Joe Aiken I got at een fae
actually, listenin tae Joe singin it. Aye. And seen, well
we hiv Joe's, he jist has one tape his he Joe. It's in it,
and somethin tae tak a fancy till.
[TM] Did you every hear anyone round here singing
it?
[GE] Just Joe is the only person at I've ever
heard singin it. Uh huh.
04
[GE] Noo there's some o that ballads, they really take a bit
o singin tae, there's a bit length, you've got tae think,
you've got to get the words and you've got to be able to cope
wi the music tae. Aye.
[TM] You have the whole song in your mind.
[GE] Well. Now it's hopeless going to a competition
unless ye've got it richt embedded in yer mind, because the
extra pressure and at, you're sure as hell you'll forget it.
[TM] First thing to go.
[Mrs E] I dinna ken fan ye embed it in yer mind,
cause ye never practice.
[GE] Back to the same auld story, fen I'm gan
aboot daen ma jobs I dinna sing actually but it's going through
ma mind.
[TM] Singing to yourself in your head.
[GE] Onything I'm nae sure o, work awa at it,
jist unconsciously nearly, till I get it a pieced the gither,
and I sort it oot. And if no, I ging back tae the original
script and get it sorted oot and there it goes. But no, I
pick it up affa quick, I just seem tae have that ability,
and eens it's richt, well it usually stays. I niver aften
stick in the front o a, well nae in front o the judgin onywey,
sometimes at a performance I'll occasionally lapse if ye let
yer concentration slip.
[Mrs E] But you ???
[GE] Ah well, it happens tae abody. No he wis
jist absolutely, he stopped twice. If you div eens stick,
that buggers ye up a the gither.
[TM] Pick another song and start again.
[GE] And so you get going again, you're sure
to stick somewey else. Well, well, but it's jist the , it's
a fun and if ye can tak it in the lighthearted, so much the
better.
[Mrs E] Wi a canna aye be winners at these competitions.
Ye've jist tae be prepared tae.
[TM] That's right, yes.
[GM] It wis a reel ca'd eh, Miss Forbes.
[TM] Miss Forbes, what's the first one called
again?
05
[GM] The Campbells Are Coming,
that's a march.
[TM] I've never recorded the jewish harp before
so, see how it goes.
[GM] Well here goes en. It's a wee bit o a hit
or a miss a lot o it, ye hiv tae get the richt key, or else
it dinna get the richt tone ye see.
[GM] Plays the Campbells are Coming on jewish
harp.
[TM] That's an endurance test as well!
06
[GM] I can play at hame masel for hoors and niver touch ma
teeth or nothin wi it. But often if I start at a competition
or at, I dae ken if it's nerves or no, but it keeps hittin
yer teeth. I dinnae ken fit wey it is like ken, it jist dis
it. Nerves, I think aye, at's richt enough. But eh, at's een
that I find is a littler they seem tae get the better tone.
[TM] And how long have you been playing it for
[GM] Well, just the last two or three year that
I really seriously started on it, ken I've hid a shot o een
noo and again, but I've bocht a few ye see, they tell ye.
Ye've tae buy a few of them afore ye get a richt een tae play
for yersel. There's two up here. They are actually ?? There's
at een, but they're different keys ye see actually, ken. Here,
pick up is een. [Plays.]. You've got to get them intae, get
yer tune intae the richt een. So I think at's a G, at'd be
an A, and this'd be a B flat, like at.
[TM] Is it the length of the string that makes?
[GM] Well I imagine, it's jist the, the composition
of the tongue, ye ken, the thickness of the tongue and the
width of the tongue that mebbe dis it. They're a aboot exactly
the same length. This een here, this is A I think. [Plays.].
There's nae neen o them the same ye see.
[TM] When you were a boy did many people play
them?
[GM] Well ma granda hid een. And eh, he lived
till he wis aboot, till 91. And in the latter days he wis
eh, he wis sort o blind, he wisnae blind but near enough and
very deaf as well. and eh, they hid ma auntie, ma auntie Jean.
And I used tae ging and visit him ye see. And he'd be sitting
there in the chair aside the fire, tellin ye stories ye ken,
and every time ye gaed tae see him ye see he telt ye jist
aboot the same story every time, ye ken aboot, it wis jist
whit happened in his life, earlier on in his life ye see.
And ye aye got jist aboot the same story but I aye put up
wi at. Ye ken. And then he would produced a strump, and sat,
he jist, broke and played his tune. Ye played it at wey ye
see, but I play it is wey. The richt proper wey is is wey
ye see, but I jist canna seem tae get it richt at wey. So,
he woulda played is tune ye see and then he says, and aye
he says 'noo which een wis at noo, dae ye ken at een'. And
eh, I didnae ken it, I didnae ken fit he wis playin, but I
just asked ma auntie ye see, and she kent. She jist, wis actually
jist bidin wi him and hearin him and she could distinguish
one tune fae anither and supposin jist ony ordinary every
person couldna pick it oot ye see. So she woulda telt me and
I telt him, and at made him happy. Laughs. So at wis eh, he
wid be the only een at I'd ever heard playin it. There wisnae
a lot o folk wid a played it, and there's nae an affa folk
dis play it. It's a bonny instrument if ye can get the tone
that you want oot o it.
[TM] Did he play those tunes, those two you
just played.
[GM] Eh?
[TM] Did he play those particular tunes?
07
[GM] Oh, I canna mind, is, eh, Smiths the Gallant Fireman
was een o them, I canna mind them a ye ken. At's eh.
[TM] Do you play that one yourself.
[GM] Aye, aye, I can easy play at een. That's
a Strathspey. It's a wee bittie mair difficult. The first
een I played wis a march, easy, fine easy beat. The second
een's a reel, at's an easy beat, it's jist a, jist faster,
it's a fine beat. But a Strathspey's a different slightly.
[Plays.]
[GM] Then eh, you've got a jig. At's a different
beat and a. I could play ither two tunes tae you, ?? [inaudible].
Well is een, I dinna really ken the name o it, I should ken
the name o it, because I hiv done a tape, ken I files tape
Robbie Shepherd ye see, and he 99 times oot o 100 Robbie'll
tell ye at the beginning o a set fit they're gan tae play
and they'll also tell ye efter they're finished fit they're
going to play. But this particular een, well it wis, I canna
mak oot fit he's sayin. It's aften like at on the, pick it
up on the tape.
So I can play at two tunes tae ye, and I think
at's jist aboot it. I'll aye Cry in by yon Toon and then the
jig.
08
[Plays.]
[TM] That's it, I recognise that tune, but I
can't mind the name either.
[GM] No, we gaed tae the dancin at St Fergus,
ye ken the aul time dancin, it's on every second Saturday.
And the boy ca'd Duncan Watson dis the music, and at's one
o his eens, ye can dae the, ??? [can't hear]. It's a fine
going tune for at. At's een o his tunes at he daes till the
??? And I just picked it up affa that. And then I heard it
on Robbie Shepherd, but I canna mak oot fit he's sayin, for
the name o it like.
09
[TM] Was there a lot of music around when you were a boy.
[GM] Eh, well… the, we would hiv had a,
I suppose mainly fan I wis little, we got Christmas parties
at the school ken, that wis aboot the only thing we did hae,
apart fae a picnic, but the picnic it wis nae the music it
wis jist games and at in the summer time. But we hid is Christmas
party at the school at Christmas and eh, the, we did, we learned
I suppose nearly fae the summer holidays right through tae
Christmas practicin tae dae a play, say a nativity or something
like at like, Snow White and Seven Dwarfs and things like
at. And then we did oor bit ye see, and then we would , would
mebbe hid a dance efter for the aulder folk ye see and there
wis music at at. And one particular person that sticks in
my mind is Gavin Barron. Ye ken him?
[TM] No.
[GM] He, he bides in Strichen. And his, he's
got a sister at bides in Aul Deer, Mrs Watt. Ye dinna ken
her? Your acquaint wi Sandy Ritchie, you spearet Sandy aboot
Gavin Barron. And he would have played at that things ye see,
cause at wis at Auld Watt school, ye ken far Auld Watt school
is?
[TM] Yes.
10
[GM] Ah well, I wis born up in at, up at Reedhill. Jist aboot
a mile fae Auld Watt school. And he would have played ye ken,
the dancin and at. Then the ither thing wis, well it wis the
start of the wireless ye see, and we're listenin tae Scottish
dance music, Jimmy Shand, Bobby MacLeod, Ian Powrie, Jim Cameron,
a that lot. We would jist listen tae them twice a wik at least,
we got them on the radio ye see and I picked up a, jist loved
it ye see, when I wis a little lad, jist loved at music. And
we got haud o a gramophone, ma mither bocht a gramophone.
It wis een o these cabinet things and you wound it up ye see
and we bocht records, Jimmy Shand, and eh, well it wisnae
only Scottish dance music we bocht, we bocht a the latest
ye ken at that time o day, it wis the Lambeth Walk and things
like at, Billy Cotton. We would a few o them and a, but it
wis mainly, mainly Scottish like Jimmy Shand and at, cause
it, well we jist lapped it up. And that's where we got oor
music fae.
11
[TM] Did you get records of songs as well. Like Willie Kemp
or?
[GM] Aye, aye, we'd Willie Kemp.
[TM] And ah, George Morris.
[GM] Aye, aye, uh huh. We'd a that as well.
That wis jist the sort o things we bocht, the kind of records
we bocht.
[TM] Did you hear of people like John Strachan
on the radio, do you remember?
[GM] Na, John Strachan, far's he.
[TM] John Strachan from Crichie, near Fyvie.
Farmer that used to sing bothy songs and ballads and things
on the radio.
[GM] Must have just been local then, he would
have just sung at local places aboot Fyvie, cause I canna
min on the name. He wouldna hae been broadcasted, it would
jist have been local concerts and stuff.
12
[TM] So what year was it you were born.
[GM] Fit year? 1931. Jist two year short of
ma pension. Laughs. 1931 yes. At's right.
[TM] So you were saying you heard the moothie
when you were young.
[GM] Aye, I canna min fit, foo aul I wis when
I got it, twis, I would probably been mebbe, I mightna been
at the school when I got ma first een. But eh, twas roon aboot
onything fae 4 - 8 year aul that I started tae learn tae play.
There wis nae, ye didnae ging and get lessons or nithin, it
jist happened like, ye jist found out that ye, if ye sucked
and blew at the right place ye got a tune. And ye found ye
got better at it, and better at it, until ye….
But eh, I suppose we didnae dae it enough, ken
once we wis left the school and gaed awa oot amon the ither
youth and daen ither things, it wis forgotten aboot, till
later on in life.
[TM] When was that?
13
[GM] Aboot fiftyish?[ Laughs.] Mebbe even later an at. Fan
did we ging tae Keith first? Then I decided we'd ben and listen
tae other folk playin the moothie and at, and I decided I
would like tae hae a go. She says you'll never hae a go, she
says, you winna even staun up and play in front of me.
[TM] Sometimes it's easier to go and play in
front of other folk.
[GM] So that day I did take in ma heid tae hae
a go, she wisnae wi us, cause she works night shift at the
home at ?? and she wis on the nicht afore ye see, so I took
off masel at day. I'll tell ye I wis a bag a nerves richt
enough. Laughs.
[TM] That was Strichen.
[GM] That wis Strichen aye. There wis five o
us, I was last equal. But that wis Jim Baker at ere, but he
said I played the wrang, I played aff, I started aff playin
eh, eh…. oh fit div ye ca it, Dark Lochnagar, and I played
it, started playin it, in a, and the second bit I did as a
waltz ye see, I started off as an air, ken playin it as an
air, and then found it wis pleasin tae me onywey, changin
fae an air intil a waltz. So I did, gaed ower it once as an
air and then gaed ower it once as a waltz. Then I did 'Kilmarnock
Bonnet' and ended up daein the 'Muckin o Geordie's Byre'.
So fen it come till him judging, he jist stood up and noo
he says, George Murray. I dinna ken if he intended changin
fae the air intill a waltz or if he thought he wisnae daen
well wi the air and he would change it intill a waltz, but
I wis a bit confused. So that wis one o the reasons why he
docket the marks aff. So I ended up last equal.
[TM] Oh well, nowhere to go but up.
[GM] Laughs. So the next year I was third, and
last year I wis second ?? [inaudible].
[TM] What about the ??? when did you start competing.
[GM] Jist last year, jist last year. Na, wisnae
last year. It wis a year past last year, we wis, we gaed doon
tae Kirriemuir for the first time. I wis entered for mooth
organ ye see, and I jist says, I'm going tae hae a go at the
trump ye see. I haed a go at the trump, there wis jist masel
and Arthur Middleton, ye ken Arthur Middleton fae Aberdeen.
Ye dinna ken him? Well, he 's a great ???? And he, he took
the prizes and a, he wis aye first. Till he stoppit. ?????
(Can't hear). He stuck his teeth in the thing and it knocked
him aff, so little Willie Fraser, the judge….. So that
wis the start o it. And then last year I won it at Strichen.
And then I gaed tae Keith and won it at Keith, and went tae
Achtermuchty and won it at Auchtermuchty, and then gaed tae
Kirriemuir and won it at Kirriemuir. [Laughs.[
[TM] That's probably quite rare, that somebody
wins all of them.
[GM] Well I dinna ken. That's the Keith een.
[TM] Oh the little plaques.
[GM] And eh, well the Strichen eens a little
een and its awa getting ma name on it.
14
There again this is a waltz, and it'll
be a jig. And the waltz is a sang that's played a lot, 'Come
a ye tramps and hawkers', ye've heard the song. So I, I played
the moothie as a waltz. And then the Banjo Breakdown which
is a jig, and then again you can dae the ????
[Plays mouth organ.]
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