For those who believe that Roberton "got his geography wrong" because he was writing in Glasgow (which would must have confused anybody, right?), "Minch" makes perfect sense, even if it is far from Mingulay.

If a fishing boat is returning to Mingulay from the northwestern mainland, it *must go through* the stormy Minch and then the South Minch in order to get home.

In any case, "Mingulay Boat Song" is now a "traditional song" by any definition. Few singers know or care who wrote it, most assume it's ancient, it really is based on a traditional melody, and so many variations have developed since 1938 that not even the Mudcat knows what the original lyrics were.

I haven't seen Roberton's 1950 publication either, but presumably the recording by the professional, copyright-conscious Kenneth McKellar is essentially Roberton's own text.

McKellar's version, from "Kenneth McKellar's Scotland," 1967.


Chorus:
Hill-yo-ho, boys! Let her go, boys!
Bring her head round, now all together.
Hill yo ho, boys! Let her go boys,
Sailing home, home to Mingulay.

What care we, though white the Minch is?
What care we for wind or weather?
Let her go, boys! Ev'ry inch is
Wearing home, home to Mingulay.

Chorus

Wives are waiting on the bank or
Looking seaward from the heather;
Pull her round boys, and we'll anchor,
Ere the sun sets at Mingulay.

Chorus (2x)

My *guess* is that if Roberton had written further stanzas, McKellar would have sung them. The track is only about two minutes long. It makes the point and quits. No candles, no bawling kids.

I liked the song so much when I heard KM sing it around 1971 that I refused to listen to it again for many years!

"Hill-yo-ho!" sounds to me like one of those hearty cries made up by a romantic songwriter.

Versions beginning "Keel your haul, boys!" don't have a clue, of course, about what "keelhaul" means. It just sounds like a cool thing sailors do.

PS, now there's a faux American Civil War version as well:

thread.cfm?threadid=77029#1369775