Common Scots songs 60 years ago

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: GUEST,Rossey
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 11:43 PM

A lot of Scottish heather and haggis songs were written in the 50's and 60's - some totally original others (Andy Stewart), often set to pipe tunes or Gaelic airs. The height of vinyl 45's, albums backed by national labels, the last days of popular theatre, radio, and the new TV media taking off - with sheet music still a selling vehicle. The kilted singers.. much of their repertoire written to order, combined with old favourites. My own father wrote a few songs for that market mainly in the 60s-80s period (many currently don't fit the 60 year heading of this thread, more like a 50-year one). Then you had the folk 'revivalists', who also rode on the crest of that cultural wave. American influence really only in the sense of picking up a guitar with the late 50's-60's skiffle and blues boom, and people having a go forming groups.

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: Thompson
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 05:04 AM

The origin of Coulter's Candy is surprisingly tragic. Recipe for the lickerish stuff now lost.

Subject: Lyr Add: GRANNY'S HIGHLAND HAME + MY AIN FOLK
From: Sol
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 09:13 AM

These are two my favourites from that era ....

GRANNY'S HIGHLAND HAME

CHORUS: Where the heather bells are blooming just outside Granny's door,
Where as laddies there we played, in days of long ago.
'Neath the shadow of Ben Braggie and Golspie's lordly stane.
How I wish that I could see my Granny's Heilan' Hame.

VERSE: Far away in the Heilands there stands a wee hoose,
And it stands on the breest o' the brae.
Where we played as laddies there lang lang ago,
And it seems it was just yesterday.
I can still see old granny, a smile on her face,
Just as sweet as the heather dew.
When she kissed me good-bye with a tear in her eye,
Said laddie may God bless you.

CHORUS: Where the heather bells are blooming, just outside Granny's door,
Where as laddies there we played, in days of long ago.
'Neath the shadow of Ben Braggie and Golspie's lordly stane.
How I wish that I could see my Granny's Heilan' Hame.


MY AIN FOLK

Far frae my hame I wander but still my thoughts return
To my ain folk over yonder in the sheiling by the burn
I see the cosy ingle and the mist upon the brae
And joy and sadness mingle as I list some auld world lay

And it's oh but I'm longing for my ain folk
Though they be but lowly puir and plain folk
I am far beyond the sea but my heart will always be
Back hame in dear auld Scotland wi' my ain folk

A bonnie lassie's greetin' tho' she tries tae stay the tears
And sweet will be our meeting after many weary years
How my mother will caress me when I'm standing by her side
Now she prays that heaven will bless me through the stormy seas divide

And it' oh but I'm longing for my ain folk
Though they be but lowly pure and plain folk
I am far beyond the sea but my heart will always be
Back hame in dear auld Scotland wi’ my ain folk

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Oct 23 - 12:45 PM

DANCE WITH ME, MORAG, sung by Isabel Sutherland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj63o6UbhG8

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 10:46 AM

In all you folks who talked on the 1880s and earlier Scottish songs were quite brand new songs. but in the 1950s and 60s in Scots songs and singers and writers were passings of old tunes from other songs from Britain and some times the USA. Here are some Scots songs that were only written in the 1950s.And the 1960s that might have first came to fame from other songs from the USA. Like The Northern Lights of Aberdeen and one song called The Wild Mountain time (Will You Go Lassie Go. The later was written in 1957 by Francis Mcpeke who learned it from a tune from earlier in the 19 century the tune he heard it from was a song called I'm feeling so lonely a song I think was written in 1918 by Carl Samberg while the song The Northern Lights Of Aberdeen was written by Mary Webb in 1952. In the royal blind school where i went to my teacher knew a lot of Scots songs that were only written in the 1950s and with the others from earlier the folks at school sung them for the Burns suppers and other Scottish events. After leaving school I went to England but after 102 I went back to my home in Edinburgh. I got a new home and there i met my friend Martin and we formed a group called Braveheart and we sung and played a lot of Scottish songs. The songs Martin would sing were some of the songs from the 17th to the 19th century that were new songs in Scotland but he would sometime sing songs that were written in the 1950s all because of school. In the time after Braveheart broke up my friend went to England to live a full life. I now spent a lot of my time reviewing folk songs from all over the world including Scotland. Another thing talking about the 1950s was the folk revival that was what Scots singers came back to power songs from the USA and other countries got songwriters from Scotland would meet up with Alan Lomax back then and sometimes these songs would be written with new words. Lomax went to Scotland in the 1950s and the early 1960s and he would meet the writers and this was what started the folk revival i say this now quite a lot when i review songs. From Joe

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: GUEST,IS
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 03:51 PM

Yeah, that's right Joe - the Scottish folk revival was all down to a big American! Dream on, pal...

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Oct 23 - 05:04 PM

Hamish Henderson would have disagreed.

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 09:10 AM

I don't know where your reviews appear, but I'd hope they don't contain the kind of duff information mentioned in your last post

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: GUEST,Rossey
Date: 25 Oct 23 - 11:43 PM

A lot of Scottish heather and haggis songs were written in the 50's and 60's - some totally original others (Andy Stewart), often set to pipe tunes or gaelic airs. The height of vinyl 45's, albums backed by national labels, the last days of popular theatre, radio, and the new TV media taking off - with sheet music still a selling vehicle. The kilted singers.. much of their repertoire written to order, combined with old favourites.   My own father wrote a few songs for that market mainly in the 60's-80'speriod (many currently don't fit the 60 year heading of this thread, more like a 50 year one). Then you had the folk 'revivalists', who also rode on the crest of that cultural wave. American influence really only in the sense of picking up a guitar with the late 50's-60's skiffle and blues boom, and people having a go forming groups.

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Oct 23 - 12:45 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj63o6UbhG8

Subject: RE: Common Scots songs 60 years ago
From: Thompson
Date: 26 Oct 23 - 05:04 AM

The origin of Coulter's Candy is surprisingly tragic. Recipe for the lickerish stuff now lost.