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Subject: Lyr Add: TINKER'S WEDDING From: toadfrog Date: 27 Apr 01 - 10:31 PM Does anyone know this? I heard it on an old Belle Stewart tape, but somehow I have the feeling someone must have published a disk with this song in it. The tune is the same as "The Day We Went to Rothesay," which is on DT. But "Tinker's Wedding" has a more traditional sound, as if "Rothesay" might be a parody of an older song. I have only this one verse: TINKER'S WEDDINGTraditional Chorus: A darum a dium a dum a day, A darum a dium a daddy oh, A darum a dium a dum a day, Hurrah for the tinker's weddin' oh! Tattie bannocks they were made, Thick with butter they were spread. On the table they were laid, tae carry on the weddin' oh! Chorus. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,#1 Date: 27 Apr 01 - 10:43 PM Looks like an imitation of "The Blythsome Bridal/ Fy let us a' to the waddin'". Tinkers usually didn't get married, they just screwed around. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: toadfrog Date: 27 Apr 01 - 10:58 PM Guest #1. I think you are right at least insofar as the song is obviously intended to be funny. I don't know "The Blythsome Bridal." How does the tune go? |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,#1 Date: 28 Apr 01 - 12:20 AM It's not "The day we went to Rothsey, O", and was known in the 17th century. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: Dita Date: 28 Apr 01 - 08:26 AM I never heard Belle sing this, but there is a recording of it, by Jimmy Scott, on the Folkways album "The Borders" FW8776. His tune is indeed "The Day we Went to Rothsey,O". Your half verse above is not in Jimmy's version, but is obviously a varient of the same song. From Samuel B. Charters' notes - "This very popular bothie song is also found in a similar version in Ford's Vagabond Songs. Ford states that it was writtenby William Watt of Peebleshire and first published in 1835. It is found everywhere in Scotland." As I believe Folkways have kept all their releases available, on tape at least, you should be able to get a copy from them. love, john. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,Bruce O. Date: 28 Apr 01 - 12:58 PM |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,Bruce O. Date: 28 Apr 01 - 01:00 PM According to Greig-Duncan #609 (two tunes, one verse only), the song was written by William Watt (and Ford's text mentioned). Watt's 8 verse text may be seen in Grieg's 'Folk-Song of the Northeast', art. #102. Grieg said on that the tune was an adaption of a pipe strathspey with flatted 7tn [Mixolydian]. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,Mac Tattie Date: 28 Apr 01 - 02:34 PM Willie Watt's other "hit song" was Kate Dalrimple. There is a version of The Tinkler's Waddin' by the great singer of traditional ballads and bothy ballads, John Strachan, which is on Folktracks FSA 066. The only other version I know of is on an excellent but long deleted Topic Recording of Ian Manuel entitled The Frosty Ploughshare, Topic 122TS220. Variation is one of the spices of traditional song life and the nearest verse in Ian Manual's version to the verse quoted by toadfrog goes....
Nae priest wis there wi' solemn face, nae clarty cloon tae claim the brace, Cheers. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,Bruce O. Date: 28 Apr 01 - 03:29 PM Greig gave Watt's "Kate Dalrymple" in art. #177, in FSNE, and his "The House o' Glenneuck" in art. #96 (to an adaption of the tune "Come under my plaidie", i.e., Hector McNeill's song to "Blarney Castle/Johnny McGill/Black Rogue" - see Irish tune index on my website and ABCs there). Somewhere in 'Early Scottish Melodies', John Glen gave the old name for the tune of "Kate Dalrymple", but he didn't list it in the index, and on a quick scan I couldn't relocate it. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: THE TINKLER'S WADDIN' From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 28 Apr 01 - 04:11 PM THE TINKLER'S WADDIN' (William Watt, 1792-1859) In June, when broom in bloom was seen, And bracken waved fu' fresh and green, And warm the sun, wi' silver sheen, The hills and glens did gladden, O; Ae day, upon the Border bent, The tinklers pitch'd their gypsy tent, And auld and young, wi' ae consent, Resolved to haud a waddin', O. Chorus: Dirrim day doo a day, Dirrim doo a da dee, O, Dirrim day doo a day, Hurrah for the tinklers' waddin', O. The bridegroom was wild Norman Scott, Wha thrice had broke the nuptial knot, And ance was sentenced to be shot For breach o' martial orders, O. His gleesome joe was Madge MaKell, A spaewife, match for Nick himsel', Wi' glamour, cantrip, charm, and spell, She frichted baith the Borders, Nae priest was there, wi' solemn face, Nae clerk to claim o' crowns a brace; The piper and fiddler played the grace To set their gabs a-steerin', O. Mang beef and mutton, pork and veal, Mang paunches, plucks, and fresh cow-heel, Fat haggises, and cauler jeel, They clawed awa' careerin', O. Fresh salmon, newly taen in Tweed, Saut ling and cod o' Shetland breed, They worried, till kytes were like to screed, Mang flagons and flasks o' gravy, O. There was raisin-kail and sweet-milk saps, And ewe-milk cheese in whangs and flaps, And they rookit, to gust their gabs and craps, Richt mony a cadger's cavie, O. The drink flew round in wild galore, And soon upraised a hideous roar Blithe Comus ne'er a queerer core Saw seated round his table, O. They drank, they danced, they swore, they sang, They quarrell'd and greed the hale day lang, And the wranglin' that rang amang the thrang Wad match'd the tongues o' Babel, O. The drink gaed dune before their drooth, That vexed baith mony a maw and mooth, It damp'd the fire o' age and youth And every breast did sadden, O; Till three stout loons flew ower the fell, At risk o' life, their drouth to quell, And robb'd a neebourin' smuggler's stell, To carry on the waddin', O. Wi' thunderin' shouts they hail'd them back To broach the barrels they werena slack, While the fiddler's plane-tree leg they brak' For playin' "Farewell to Whisky, O". Delirium seized the roarous thrang, The bagpipes in the fire they flang, And sowtherin' airns on riggin's rang, The drink play'd siccan a plisky, O. The sun fell laich owre Solway banks, While on they plied their roughsome pranks, And the stalwart shadows o' their shanks, Wide ower the muir were spreadin', O. Till, heads and thraws, amang the whins, They fell wi' broken brows and shins, And sair craist banes filled mony skins, To close the tinklers' waddin', O. Text in this case from Wilma Paterson's Songs of Scotland (Mainstream Publishing, 1996). spaewife: fortune-teller cantrip: spell, charm gabs a-steerin': mouths a-working plucks: herrings damaged by the net cauler jeel: cool or fresh jelly kytes were like to screed: bellies were like to rip milk saps: food soaked in milk whangs and flaps: chunks and slices rookit, to gust their gabs and craps: stole, to stuff their mouths and bellies cadger's cavie: grumbler's hen-coop drooth, drouth: thirst sowtherin' airns: soldering irons siccan a plisky: such a trick sair craist: badly cracked There is a midi of the tune with the DT file The Day We Went to Rothesay, O, but the rhythm has been rather ironed out of it, so I've made another from the notation in the Paterson book. It goes to the Mudcat Midi Pages; until it appears there, as a temporary measure it may be heard via the South Riding Folk Network site: THE TINKLER's WADDIN' Malcolm |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,Bruce O. Date: 28 Apr 01 - 04:28 PM The tune of "Kate Dalyrmple" is #332 in 'The Scots Musical Museum", and first found as "The New Highland Laddy" in D. Rutherford's "Twenty-four Country Dances for 1749". The earlier verrsion is given as an ABC, T207, in file T2 on my website.
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,Bruce O. Date: 28 Apr 01 - 04:44 PM "The Tinker's Wedding" does seem to be an imitation of "The Blythsome Bridal". A 17th century version is in the Scarce Songs 1 file on my website. In "The Tinker's Wedding" there is played "Farewell to Whisky". That's "Niel Gow's Farewell to Whiskey". The song, from an 1804 collection, is in the Scarce Songs 2 file on my website. Gow published the tune in 1809. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 28 Apr 01 - 10:21 PM I may as well add a link to a midi of Gow's tune (decorations omitted for the sake of clarity). It is, of course, not even slightly related to the two songfiles in the DT named confusingly "Fareweill Tae Whisky" and "Farewell To Whisky", both of which are slight variants of the song usually called "Johnny My Man". Farewell to Whisky is also well-known in tradition in the North of Ireland, where for some reason it's played as a cheerful dance tune. Gow intended it to be played "very slow and pathetic". Farewell To Whisky Malcolm |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,Bruce O. Date: 28 Apr 01 - 11:52 PM As noted at the song in Scarece Songs 2, the earliest known copy of the tune "Farewell to Whisky" is in bk 5 of Gow's 'Strathspey Reels', 1809, and an ABC of that copy is GOWFRWL in file S2.HTM on my website. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: John Nolan Date: 29 Apr 01 - 01:29 PM This song was a favourite of Willie Scott, the Border shepherd and singer, who learned it from his mother. Willie was born in Dumfriesshire in 1897. The song's author, Willie Watt, incidentally, hailed from West Linton in Peebleshire, about 60 miles away over the Lowther Hills as the crow flies. It is also published, fairly close to Malcolm's words above, in Alison McMorland's 1988 collection of Willie Scott's songs called Herd Laddie o the Glen (which has a very interesting introduction by Hamish Henderson.) Hamish and Willie S. were stalwarts of the Newcastleton Folk Festival, where the song was regularly sung - being fairly close to its home ground.) The song was also a favorite at kirns and shepherds' suppers in the eastern Borders at least until the 1960s, when these fine occasions began to dwindle. One footnote to Malcolm's glossary: a cadger also means "an itinerant dealer, especially in fish" - its intended meaning here, I think. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: Dita Date: 01 May 01 - 03:39 PM Willie Scott, mentioned in John Nolan's post above was the ?father of Jimmy , and "The Borders" album mentioned in my post is by "Willie Scott and family". How this could be one of only three album featuring the singing of Willie Scott (Alison's discography in "Herd Laddie") makes me very sad indeed. Willie was worth a boxed set on his own love, john |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 15 Jun 01 - 08:29 PM Au contraire, Guest #1, tinkers did get married. J M Synge devoted one of his plays to just such an event. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST,John O'Creagh Date: 07 Feb 05 - 10:20 PM I have heard a recording of "The Tinkers Wedding" By the Makem Brothers on the CD titled "Stand Together." |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding From: GUEST Date: 23 May 05 - 02:08 PM Go Raith math agat! |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding / Tinkler's Waddin' From: Jim Dixon Date: 29 May 08 - 08:09 AM You can see a copy of THE TINKLERS' WADDIN', including the sheet music, in Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland: With Many Old and Familiar Melodies By Robert Ford, 1899. |
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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tinker's Wedding / Tinklers' Waddin' From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 29 May 08 - 01:34 PM But not if you live in Scotland, where the song was written and originally published; or in most places outside the USA, come to that. Google doesn't think you are important enough to be allowed to see it. In this case it doesn't matter, as Ford's text is identical (bar a couple of slightly variant spellings) to the one I posted in this thread seven years ago; and his tune is identical to the midi linked to above. The accompanying notes might be of interest, though: 'Who, I wonder, is he that was reared in any country district in Scotland and is old enough to have cut his wisdom teeth and never heard the rarely humorous, graphic, and rattling song of "The Tinkler's Waddin'," which is quite a classic of its kind, though seldom met with in printed form? Even when printed the author's name has not been attached. Yet we know that it was written by William Watt, who was born at West Linton, Peeblesshire, 1792, and was author, besides, of "Kate Dalrymple." Watt, who was a weaver to trade, cultivated with success the three sister arts of poesy, painting and music. In his early career he removed to East Kilbride, where for a time he was Parish Kirk precentor. Two editions of his poems were published during his life - one in 1835 and another in 1844 - both of which sold rapidly. A third and last edition, issued in four monthly parts, one shilling each, and comprising in all 338 pages, appeared soon after his death. He died as late as 1859.' Robert Ford, Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland With Many Old and Familiar Melodies (single volume edition). Paisley: Alexander Gardner, 1904, 1-4. |
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