The words of this are by a woman called Violet Jacob, and indeed siller tides are waves of the silver-coloured variety. The poem was written around 1915, and appeared in Jacob's book 'Songs of Angus'. Jim Reid (Dundee-born, now living in Letham, Angus, used to play with the famous Foundry Bar Band)put it to music in the 1970s along with other poems by Jacob (a member of the aristocratic Erskine family of the House of Dun, near Montrose, Angus) , Marion Angus (from Arbroath), and Helen B. Cruickshank (from Hillside, near to Montrose). His record 'I saw the wild geese flee' was released on Springthyme Records, (in Kingskettle, Fife, Scotland) with ;The Wild Geese' and Cruickshank's 'Shy Geordie' appearing. This is now available on CD, as are Jim's two own-label recordings 'The Better o' a Sang', and 'Emfae Dundee'. A fantastic singer.