1) According to Ewan MacColl: "This saga of a rough weekend in Scotland's most popular holiday resort is based on a country song, The Tinker's Weddin', written by William Watt, a weaver born at West Linton, Peeblesshire, in 1792. The parody followed soon after as a music-hall piece and has been popular ever since."

That implies that the song dates back to around 1800 - can anyone confirm this? I can't find anything on the probable date of origin other than the above quote.


I'm also confused by some of the lyrics:

2) The first line, "One Hogmanay at Glesca Fair".

Glasgow Fair is in July, but Hogmanay is December 31st. The subsequent line "We wandered through the Broomielaw through wind and rain and sleet and snaw" corroborates the idea that it was in winter, but almost no one would have gone to Rothesay for a day out at that time of year. Was this juxtaposition of Hogmanay and Glasgow Fair meant to be a joke? If so it seems like a very obscure joke to me, unlike the other jokes in the song, which are all obvious. Is there any other possible explanation for it?


3) The last line of the first verse, "We got the length o' Rothesay O".

What does "We got the length of" mean in this context? Given the rest of the verse, one would expect it to mean something like "We got the boat to Rothesay-o" but I don't see how "length" could mean "boat". Does the word "length" have an unusual meaning in old Scots?


4) "An' he says 'Clear the room an' mak' a ring an' ahl fecht youse a' in Rothesay O'".

What does "fecht" mean in this context? "Fetch" doesn't seem to make sense here, but I can't think of anything else it could mean.

Dave