I was able to download the soong as sung by the Tannahill Weavers. Thanks for the link. Fine tune!

Interesting links in the above post. Curious, though that neither (as far as I'm aware - I read through them hurriedly) mentions the etymology as involving a Scots fish, and the evolution from bladderskate to blatherskite. Who does one believe, Funk or Webster? The book I have is "Thereby Hangs a Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins" by Charles Earle Funk, Harper and Row, 1950

Joseph T. Shipley in "Dictionary of Word Origins" calls "blatherskite", a "Scottish word" but says it's from the Old Norse word "blathr" (to talk nonsense)+ "skata" (the fish), then also gives an Anglo Saxon root, "bladder" (windbag) + "skite" (excrement).

Blather, standing alone, apparently comes from the same root of "talking nonsense" or "windbag." Reiver 1 who was a far, far better musician than I, always allowed me introduce each song and tell a little about it's background which I loved to do. He always referred to me as doing the "blather" about the songs. I felt complimented. Now I know better. In fact, he once proposed that we change our name from The Reivers, to "Blatherless and Singmore." A not so subtle hint, do you think?

Reiver 2