When I wrote the song I was meaning to infer the deprivasion the people suffered by being only allowed to scavenge along the sea shore. Anything valuable for paying fishermen would be guarded by the factors. The phoenetic spelling 'clabby doo' is indeed the horse mussel and many a one I have enjoyed myself. My knowledge of the Highland Clearances came from reading 'Gloomy Memories' by Donald MacLeod, before I read John Prebble. I wrote a series of Highland Clearance songs and persuaded Major Minor to reord them with Alastair McDonald doing the singing. The album was called Battle Ballads.