Saturday, March 7, 2020

Claire Hastings: Scottish Folk

Scottish "Musical Storyteller" Claire Hastings, the BBC "Young Traditional Musician of the Year" in 2015, had a great album last year, Those Who Roam. I discovered it from Ted Gioia's list of the year's 100 best recordings. Some songs on YouTube:

Come Spend A While Wi' Me
Fair Weather Beggar
The Bothy Lads

Sample lyrics, not entirely clear for Americans, but you can get the gist:

For they’re awfy lads the bothy lads
Gin they get what they’re seekin
They’ll pack a kist an they’ll gang an enlist
An’ leave the lassies greetin

When a wis noo but sweet sixteen
Wi’ beauty just in bloomin
Little little did I ken
At nineteen I’d be greetin

For the plooboy lads are gey braw lads
But they’re fause an deceiving
For they’ll tak a’ an they’ll gang awa
An leave the lassie’s greetin

3 comments:

pootrsox said...

I have been reading historical mysteries set in Scotland in the last of the 18th and first of the 19th centuries. I know the meaning of those lyrics thanks to Lexie Conyngham :) (The Murray of Letho series is for the most part superb!)

G. Verloren said...

I have a deep fondness for Scots - not quite a dialect, not quite a different language, but wholly music to the ears.

David said...

@Verloren

Ditto!