The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #1521   Message #4100191
Posted By: Joe Offer
31-Mar-21 - 06:04 PM
Thread Name: ADD: Yellow on the Broom (Adam McNaughtan)
Subject: DT Correct: Yellow on the Broom (Adam McNaughtan)
We've had lyrics posted for this song many times. The Digital Tradition lyrics are a slightly edited rendition of the 1997 post from Rita Ferrara, above. Rita posted what she remembered from an Ed Miller recording, so she did not get the lyrics from Adam McNaughtan himself. At least for the time being, we have decided to leave the Digital Tradition as it was when its editor, Dick Greenhaus, died in 2019. We'll try to preserve existing discussion as it was posted in the Forum, but develop one edited "Origins" thread for every song that has documented transcriptions of the lyrics.

On the left are the lyrics from the Digital Tradition. On the right are lyrics with the corrections Tattie Bogle sent me.
YELLOW ON THE BROOM (DT Lyrics)
(Adam McNaughtan)

Well, I ken ye dinna like it, lass, tae winter here in toun
For the scaldies they all cry us, aye, and they try to put us doun;
And it's hard to raise three bairnies in a single flea-box room,
But I'll tak' ye on the road again when the yellow's on the broom.

cho: The yellow's on the broom, when the yellow's on the broom,
Oh, I'll tak' ye on the road again when the yellow's on the broom.
(Chorus repeats the last line of each verse)

Oh, the scaldies call us tinker dirt and they sconce our bairns in school,
But who cares what a scaldy says, for scaldy's but a fool.
They never hear the yorlin's song, nor see the flax in bloom,
For they're aye cooped up in houses when the yellow's on the broom.

Nae sales for pegs and baskets now, so just to stay alive
We've had tae work at scaldy jobs frae nine o'clock til five;
But we call nae man our master, and we own the world's aroon,
And we'll bid fareweel tae Brekin, when the yellow's on the broom.

I am weary for the springtime, when we'll tak' the road aince mair,
Tae the plantin' and the pearling, aye, and the berry fields of Blair,
There we'll meet wi' all our kinfolk, frae a' the country roun',
When the gang-aboot folk tak' tae the road, and the yellow's on the broom.
YELLOW ON THE BROOM (from Tatie Bogle)
(Adam McNaughtan)

Well, I ken ye dinna like it, lass, tae winter here in toun
For the scaldies AYE MIS-CRY US, and they try to put us doun;
And it's hard to raise three bairnies in a single flea-box room,
But I'll tak' ye on the road again when the yellow's on the broom.

cho: WHEN the yellow's on the broom, when the yellow's on the broom,
Oh, I'll tak' ye on the road again when the yellow's on the broom.
(Chorus repeats the last line of each verse)

Oh, the scaldies call us tinker dirt and they sconce our bairns in school,
But who cares what a SCALDIE THINKS, for A SCALDIE’S but a fool.
THEY’VE never HEARD the yorlin's song, nor SEEN the flax in bloom,
For they're aye cooped up in hoOSES when the yellow's on the broom.

Nae sales for pegs and baskets now, so just to stay alive
We've had tae work at SCALDIE jobs frae nine o'clock til five;
But we call nae man our MAISTER, and we own the world's ROOM,
And we'll bid fareweel tae BRECHIN, when the yellow's on the broom.

I am weary for the springtime, when we'll tak' the road aince mair,
Tae the plantin' and the pearling, aye, and the berry fields of Blair,
There we'll meet wi' all our kinfolk, frae a' the country roun',
When the gang-aboot folk tak' tae the road, and the yellow's on the broom.


Scaldies are towns people, non-travellers.
Brekin (sp.?) is pronounced Breekin. It's a town where a lot of travelling
people spend their winters.

Copyright Adam McNaughtan
Recorded by Ed Miller, Jake Donelly on the CD 'Catching the Sun'
@Scottish @tinker @rambling
filename[ YELBROOM
TUNE FILE: YELBROOM
CLICK TO PLAY
RF, BJ
oct97

Notes from Tattie Bogle:
I’ll paste the whole song below and capitalise any changes.
Scaldy/scaldie seems to be spelled 2 different ways: it would usually be scaldie.
There is a YouTube with Adam McNaughtan himself singing verses 1 and 3 - very clear diction, which will support what I’ve put below.
Arthur Johnstone, who sings the other 2 verses, has made his own changes, so I should disregard those!

Mis-cry means to call people bad names, near enough.

Adam McNaughtan recording from The Words That I Used to Know:

And here's an Ed Miller recording of "Yellow on the Broom"