Lyr Req/ADD: McGinty's Meal and Ale (Thompson/Kemp

Subject: McGinty's meal an ale
From: purrplevoice
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 05:41 PM

searching all over the place and can't believe I can't find all the words to Mcginty's Meal an Ale!
One of those songs where I know some of it but not all in order :-)
Can anybody help?

Subject: Lyr Add: MCGINTY'S MEAL AND ALE
From: Les from Hull
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 06:04 PM

Got it by putting and instead of an'!

MCGINTY'S MEAL AND ALE
Words by George Bruce Thomson; Music by Willie Kemp

1. This is nae a sang o' love na', nor yet a sang o' money,
Faith it's naethin' verra peetifu', it's naethin' verra funny;
But there's hielan' Scotch, Lowland Scotch, Butter Scotch an' honey,
If there's nane o' them for a' there's a mixture o' the three.
An' there's nae a word o' beef, brose, sowens, sauty bannocks na'
Nor pancakes, paes eggs for them wi' dainty stammicks;
But it's a' aboot a meal and ale that happened at Balmannocks,
McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.

CHORUS: They were howlin# in the kitchen like a caravan o' Tinkies, aye,
And some were playin' ping-pong, and tiddely widdely winkies;
For up the howe and doon the howe ye niver saw such jinkies,
As McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.

2. Noo McGinty's pig had broken lowse, an wannert tae the lobby,
Whaur he opened shived the pantry door, an' cam' upon the toddy;
And he took kindly tae the stuff like ony human boddy,
At McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.
Miss McGinty she ran, but the hoose th'wey was dark an' crookit,
She ga'ed heelster gowdie ower the pig, for it she never lookit;
And she lat oot a skirl was hae paralysed a teuchit,
At McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.

CHORUS

3. Johnnie Murphy he ran efter her, and ower the pig was leapin'
Whan he trampit on an ashet that was sittin' fu' o' dreepin'
An' he fell doon and peel't his croon, an' quidna' haud frae greetin'
At McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.
And the pantry shelf cam' ricklin' doon and he was lyin' kirnin'
Amang saft soap, pease meal, corn flour and yirnin'
Like a gollach amang trickle but McGinty's wife was girnin'
At McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.

CHORUS

4. Sybe they a' ran skirlin' tae the door but fan' that it was tuggit,
For aye it held the feester, aye the mair they ruggit;
Till McGinty roared tae bring an axe, he wadna' be humbuggit,
Na' nor lockit in his ain hoose, and that he'd lat them see.
Sae the wife cam' trailin' wi' an axe, an' through the bar was hacket,
And open flew the door at aince, sae ticht as they were packet,
And a' the crew cam rummlin' oot like tatties frae a backet,
At McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.

CHORUS

5. They had spurtles, they had tattie chappers, faith they werena' jokin'
And they swore they'd gar the pig claw whaur he was never yokin'
But by this time the lad was fou' and didna' care a dockin'
At McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.
Oh! there's eelie pigs an' jeelie pigs, an' pigs for haudin' butter,
Aye but this pig was greetin' fou' and rowin' in the gutter,
Till McGinty and his foreman trailed him oot upon a shutter,
Frae McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.

CHORUS

6. Miss McGinty took the thing tae heart, an' hidit in her closet,
An' they rubbit Johnnie Murphy's head wi' turpentine an' rost;
Syne they harl't him wi' meal and ale, ye really was supposit
He has sleepit in a mason's trough and risen tae the spree.
Oh! weary on the barley bree, an' weary fa' the weather,
For it's keetcherin' 'mang dubs an' drink, they gangna' weel thegither;
But there's little doot McGinty's pig is wishin' for anither
O' McGinty's meal and ale, whaur the pig ga'ed on the spree.

CHORUS

Subject: RE: McGinty's meal an ale
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 06:24 PM

Try M'Ginty's Meal and Ale.

Or do as I did and put 'McGinty's' in the Lyrics and Knowledge Search to get any number of hits, including the one above!

Subject: RE: McGinty's meal an ale
From: Goose Gander
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 06:44 PM

Try this thread for a related song.

Subject: RE: McGinty's meal an ale
From: GUEST,kenny
Date: 28 Jun 06 - 07:05 PM

Ah - they don't write 'em like that anymore.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: McGinty's Meal and Ale (Thompson, Kemp)
From: Abby Sale
Date: 06 Oct 10 - 10:39 AM

I see I've never explained this. Sorry. On croaking this out the other day, I was asked for the reference so I'd better get my pigs in a row. Since few are likely to read this, I can pretty safely thank that group now for not stoning me for it, though I believe the group leader was considering tar and feathers about the 18th incoherent verse.

It was writen by George Bruce Thompson and submited to Grieg's column in the Buchan Obsever about 1910. It was printed in Folk Songs of the North-East by Gavin Greig as "M'Ginty's Meal and Ale." I took the title and words from that 1963 Goldstein book of facsimiles of the newspaper series. In The Greig~Duncan Folk Song Collection, Vol. 3, p. 508 (song #630) and also in Norman Buchan, 101 Scottish Songs, 1962, it's given as "McGinty's Meal-an-Ale". The inestimable Emily Lyle, editor of the Greig~Duncan volume, wrote me that the copy in Thomson's own hand reads "McGinty." It is unknown whether Greig or Greig's publisher used the common abbreviation "M'Ginty."

I also failed to include my glossary - deeply sorry about that. I do see that several words in the song are a tad obscure.
===

0 Meal-an-Ale = party
1 mixter = mixture
2 beef-brose = beef soup
3 sowens = fermented oat-flour porridge
4 sautie = salty
5 bannocks = griddle oatcakes
6 pess = Easter
7 tinkies = tinkers (travelers/"gypsies")
8 howe = hollow
9 jinkies = high-jinks
10 butt = around
11 hoose = house
12 heelster-gowdy =topsy-turvey, head-over-heels
13 skyrl = screech (of the bagpipe)
14 teuchit = peewit or lapwing
15 ashet = serving/carving dish
16 dreepin' = cooking fat
17 peel't = scraped
18 croon = pate
19 haud = hold off
20 greetin' = weeping
21 skyelf = shelf
22 ricklin' = rattling
23 kirnin' = churning (thrashing)
24 piz-meal = pea meal
25 yirnin' = rennet
26 gollach = a beetle
27 tricle = treacle
28 girnin' = whining
29 soss = soggy mess
30 Syne = in a while
31 fan = when
32 tuggit = tugged
33 ruggit = were rough
34 tatties = spuds
35 backet = basin/bucket
36 spurtles = porridge stirrers
37 gar = make
38 claw = scratch
39 yokin' = working [I think]
40 fou = full (drunk)
41 dokin = dock leaf (a thing of no value)
42 eely pigs = oil jars
43 jeely pigs = jam jars
44 hidet = hid
45 roset = resin
46 harl't = threw at
47 troch = trough (ie, as if he'd been stuccoed)
48 barley bree = whiskey
49 widder = widow
50 keegerin' = messing about
51 dubs = mud puddles
52 gyang = go
53 na weel = not well
54 thegidder = together
55 doot = doubt
56 anidder = another

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: McGinty's Meal and Ale (Thompson, Kemp)
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 06 Oct 10 - 11:03 AM

Hi Abby. Long time no see.

I'd only really disagree with one item in your glossary, no 46:

"Syne they harl't him wi' meal and ale"

I've always understood this to mean 'applied a roughcast'.

Croon I'd say was any meaning of crown.

David R.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/ADD: McGinty's Meal and Ale (Thompson/Kemp
From: Gavin Paterson
Date: 02 Feb 16 - 04:22 PM

This song is a bit similar to Johnny McEldoo, No?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req/ADD: McGinty's Meal and Ale (Thompson/Kemp
From: GUEST,Anne Neilson
Date: 02 Feb 16 - 05:06 PM

Just heard a superb performance of this wonderful song at Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow.
The event was a celebration of the influential Wee Red Book -- otherwise known as '101 Scottish Songs' -- by the late Norman Buchan, and now re-issued by Harper Collins in collaboration with the TMSA (Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland).

And there will be a DVD of the concert available from TMSA in March/April!