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Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver

DigiTrad:
CALTON WEAVER
NANCY'S WHISKY


Related threads:
Versions: Whiskey Nancy (27)
Calton v. Carlton Weaver? (22)
Tune Req: Song; 'Nancy Whiskey'? (24)
(origins) Origins: Carlton Weavers (not the usual one) (18)
Lyr Req: Nancy Whiskey / Nancy Whisky (17)
Lyr Req: Nancy Whisky (chantey) (6)
Lyr Req: Nancy Whiskey (5) (closed)


GUEST,MKEBENN 19 Dec 09 - 09:54 AM
Brakn 19 Dec 09 - 10:01 AM
Terry McDonald 19 Dec 09 - 10:02 AM
Brakn 19 Dec 09 - 10:11 AM
Brakn 19 Dec 09 - 10:16 AM
mkebenn 19 Dec 09 - 10:24 AM
Terry McDonald 19 Dec 09 - 10:39 AM
MGM·Lion 19 Dec 09 - 10:39 AM
beeliner 19 Dec 09 - 10:40 AM
John MacKenzie 19 Dec 09 - 11:10 AM
MGM·Lion 19 Dec 09 - 11:26 AM
GUEST,Lighter 19 Dec 09 - 11:28 AM
mkebenn 19 Dec 09 - 12:17 PM
MGM·Lion 19 Dec 09 - 12:26 PM
Charley Noble 19 Dec 09 - 01:25 PM
MGM·Lion 20 Dec 09 - 12:45 AM
GUEST,DavindeK 20 Dec 09 - 07:57 AM
MGM·Lion 20 Dec 09 - 09:01 AM
GUEST,Shimrod 20 Dec 09 - 09:32 AM
Mysha 20 Dec 09 - 10:21 AM
GUEST,Mike Yates 21 Dec 09 - 03:22 AM
Terry McDonald 21 Dec 09 - 04:07 AM
GUEST,999 21 Dec 09 - 04:15 AM
GUEST,Shimrod 21 Dec 09 - 04:56 AM
GUEST,TJ in San Diego 21 Dec 09 - 11:35 AM
GUEST,Guest UK 16 Mar 10 - 03:35 PM
PoppaGator 16 Mar 10 - 04:07 PM
Lighter 16 Mar 10 - 04:37 PM
Steve Gardham 16 Mar 10 - 04:55 PM
GUEST,Alistair Banfield 17 Mar 10 - 03:17 PM
MGM·Lion 18 Mar 10 - 12:14 AM
GUEST,Guest Uk 18 Mar 10 - 03:16 PM
meself 18 Mar 10 - 03:32 PM
Lighter 09 Nov 10 - 04:17 PM
Effsee 09 Nov 10 - 10:38 PM
Dave MacKenzie 10 Nov 10 - 02:04 PM
mayomick 10 Nov 10 - 05:32 PM
Dave MacKenzie 10 Nov 10 - 07:19 PM
mayomick 11 Nov 10 - 01:08 PM
Steve Gardham 10 Oct 14 - 08:48 AM
Steve Gardham 10 Oct 14 - 08:57 AM
Jack Campin 10 Oct 14 - 09:08 AM
The Sandman 10 Oct 14 - 09:14 AM
voyager 10 Oct 14 - 12:14 PM
voyager 10 Oct 14 - 12:16 PM
Joe Offer 07 Mar 15 - 11:57 PM
Mrrzy 08 Mar 15 - 03:11 PM
GUEST 22 Jul 21 - 01:36 AM
GUEST,Jon Bartlett 22 Jul 21 - 03:15 PM
voyager 22 Sep 23 - 08:00 PM
meself 22 Sep 23 - 09:40 PM
GUEST 23 Sep 23 - 03:19 PM
GUEST 23 Sep 23 - 03:19 PM
voyager 22 Sep 23 - 08:00 PM
meself 22 Sep 23 - 09:40 PM
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Subject: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: GUEST,MKEBENN
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 09:54 AM

What are the roots of this song, and how is it possible it's in the digitrad and not the forum? Mike


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: Brakn
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 10:01 AM

Loads of threads and it's in the DT.

Search for Seth Davey / Whiskey on a Sunday.


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: Terry McDonald
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 10:02 AM

No, Seth Davey is a different song. Guest Mike's talking about the Calton Weaver.


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: Brakn
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 10:11 AM

oops!!


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: Brakn
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 10:16 AM

It is in the DT as "Nancy Whisky"

Also info on this thread.


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: mkebenn
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 10:24 AM

Terry's right, I've always called Carlton Weaver Nancy Whiskey 'cause I first haerd it by Ian Tyson and thats what he called it. Not 'till the Clancys was I aware of the other title. Mike


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: Terry McDonald
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 10:39 AM

I learned it from Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor in the 1960s. Calton was a weaving village that was absorbed into the city of Glasgow .


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 10:39 AM

It was of course the theme-song of the singer Anne Wilson who sang under the name Nancy Whiskey, and made the first British record of Freight Train with the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group in 1956 or 57. She ran a skiffle & folk club at the Princess Louise before it was succeeded by Ewan & Peggy's Ballads & Blues. A skiffle group called The Easy Riders used to play sometimes at the Nancy Whiskey Club, whose guitar/washboard player was one not a million miles from my own goodself... The other members are dead now - & so is Nancy, alas...


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: beeliner
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 10:40 AM

Those who remember the singer of that (stage) name might have missed her enrty in Wikipedia:

Nancy Whiskey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Nancy Whiskey (4 March 1935 – 1 February 2003) was a Scottish folk singer, best known for the 1957 hit song, "Freight Train".

She was born Anne Alexandra Young Wilson, at Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland. While attending art school in Glasgow, Wilson performed on the local folk club circuit where she met fellow singer and guitarist Jimmie MacGregor who introduced her to blues and hillbilly music. She took her stage name from a Scottish folk song, 'Nancy Whiskey' which has a chorus of: "Whiskey, whiskey, Nancy whiskey, Whiskey, whiskey, Nancy-O."

She was signed to Topic Records and moved to London in 1955. Although reluctant to surrender her reputation as a solo performer, she was persuaded to join the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group to record Elizabeth Cotten's song "Freight Train". The record made the top five in the UK Singles Chart in 1957, and she also toured the United States with McDevitt's group.

After a second, smaller hit, "Greenback Dollar", Whiskey left the group to resume a solo career and marry musician Bob Kelly, who became a member of her backing group, the Teetotallers. By the 1970s, she had largely retired from the music industry.

--end of article--

Not mentioned in the article is the lady's follow-up to "Freight Train", "Johnny-O", which used basically the same whistling bridge as "Freight Train".

Any UK posters know if the McDevitt group is available on CD? I certainly haven't seen any here in the USA.


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 11:10 AM

Here


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 11:26 AM

There is a certain anomaly in the song in that all printed versions seem to spell 'whiskey' with the penultimate -e-, which is surely the Irish/Bourbon way — Scotch whisky is traditionally spelt without that -e-. Any explanation for this?

Also — the concept itself: I take it that 'Nancy Whiskey' is a sort of fanciful personification of "the Creature" - Whisky. Did this originate with the song, or did the phrase/personificatory·concept predate the song or have any earlier application? Why "Nancy" - usually in folksong a sailor's girlfriend? Is there a Scots adjective similar to the name 'Nancy" which would make it an appropriate name to apply to the personification of the usquebaugh?

These questions have long exercised me. Can anyone furnish any answers?


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 11:28 AM

Originally popularized by Ewan MacColl. He said he learned it from his father, who had put a new tune to it be ceause he didn't like the old one.

MacColl's version is the one that's been sung almost without change since ca1960.


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: mkebenn
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 12:17 PM

MtheGM.
as to the concept, well that's the way i alwas took it, and I dedicate it to an old girlfriend, who was no lady. I'm American so the "e"less whiskey seens odd to me. Same in Canada, I think. Mike


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 12:26 PM

Thanks Mike. Yes indeed, Canadian whiskey also has the e. That is why I find it so odd that the song includes it, as the Scots are the only ones who seem jealously to guard their own traditional, e-less, spelling. Look at any bottle of Scotch & you will find it spelled without the -e-.

Best regards - another Michael


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Subject: RE: Origins: NANCY WHISKEY
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 01:25 PM

I'll drink to that, however you spell it.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 20 Dec 09 - 12:45 AM

Well, Charley, that has successfully scotched that line of argument...


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,DavindeK
Date: 20 Dec 09 - 07:57 AM

@ MtheGM - traditionally Scots spelt it either way. Or I guess that depends how far back you want to go. A century ago the legal Scottish spelling was with the 'e' and it's only in the past few decades that they've got all precious about spelling it the other way, and that, primarily at the prodding of Americans who made a big deal out of the difference. Canadians use the e-less spelling now but that was not always the case on Canadian whisky labels either. A few years ago I published an article about this on the Malt Maniacs website but I think the Fake AP Stylebook covers it much more eloquently with this comment: "You don't spell whisky, you savour it."
Here's a link to my (lengthy) article: http://www.maltmaniacs.org/malt-109.html#0810


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 20 Dec 09 - 09:01 AM

DavindeK - you are obviously an authority, but I don't think you are right about the 'last few decades': it is the sort of thing I have always been interested in, & I am nearly 78. It has been so all my life; so certainly right back to the 30s & beyond, it has always been Scotch Whisky, Irish Whiskey — as long as my LONG memory goes.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 20 Dec 09 - 09:32 AM

I've heard an English version of Nancy Whiskey. I can't remember the exact details but I seem to recall that Cecil Sharp collected it from Shadrach ('Shepherd') Hayden.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: Mysha
Date: 20 Dec 09 - 10:21 AM

Hi Lighter,

That version of Ewan MacColl, that has been sung since 1960, which version is that?

Bye
                                                                  Mysha


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,Mike Yates
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 03:22 AM

Hamish Henderson collected at least one version of the song with the title "Nancy's Whisky", which makes more sense to me.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: Terry McDonald
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 04:07 AM

Mysha - presumably the one in The Singing Island, compiled by MacColl and Seeger and published in 1960.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,999
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 04:15 AM

Some history here.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 04:56 AM

Thanks for the link, 'GUEST, 999'. Those were, more or less, the words that I remember for the English version of the song that I heard. I find it interesting that it appears to have had its origins in England - especially as most of the versions commonly heard in the post-war Folk Revival were Scottish ones.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 11:35 AM

"The mair I kissed her, the mair I lo'ed her,
The mair I kissed her, the mair she smiled.
I soon forgot me mither's teachin',
Nancy soon had me beguiled.

   Whiskey, whiskey; Nancy whiskey
   Whiskey, whiskey, Nancy-O.

I once knew a young lady folksinger named Nancy who hated this song. I got unending grief from her whenever I did it (which was seldom, in front of her). Nancy, in the song, IS whiskey - portrayed as a female temptress. This is a standard ploy of male serial inebriates, who love to blame all their accumulated misfortunes on feminine wiles.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,Guest UK
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 03:35 PM

Can anyone help me to find the Nancy Whiskey song that I believe she made on an EP along with the songs "Jessie James", "Stackolee" etc. which I belive was by Dick Bishop. It's a slow haunting type number. I know I'm clutching at straws, but someone might know the song I mean.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: PoppaGator
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 04:07 PM

A couple of years ago, I heard a group sing this song as "Nancy's [possessive] Whiskey" ~ as though there were something sinful or embarrassing about personifying whiskey itself ("the crayture") as a woman.

Perhaps I overreacted in my interpretation, but the performance seemed to convey a sort of timid and squeaky-clean feeling. They really seemed to be missing the point, completely oblivious to the "spirit" (pun intended) of the song. One would never believe that even a single member of the ensemble had ever experienced a close, loving relationship with The Water Of Life.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: Lighter
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 04:37 PM

I tried posting a version from an Irish garland of about 1800, but the 'Cat ate it.

Maybe I'll try again some day.

It isn't as succinct or as clever as the modern version, which proves there really can be progress in the arts.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 04:55 PM

Pitts spelt it Nancy Wiskey c1820 and Croshaw of York and Jennings of London 'Nancy Whisky' a little later. Sanderson of Edinburgh much later had 'Nancy Whiskie'. Both the Glasgow and Dundee Poet's Boxes c1850 had 'Nancy Whisky'. Hope you're all suitably confused. They give the air as 'It's very Strange' and that about sums it up. You can look at the Croshaw (Harding B25(1315)) and the Jennings (Harding B25(1314)) on the Bodleian website.

If you can get the cat to regurgitate I'd like to see the Irish garland version please, Jonathan.


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,Alistair Banfield
Date: 17 Mar 10 - 03:17 PM

The guest that was interested in the EP...

I have an ep by Nancy Whiskey...

It was issued on Topic in 1957.

However tracks on it were
1.) An Old Man Came a'Courting
2.) Bonny Lad
3.) The Bold Fenian Men
4.) Poor Little Turtle Dove
5.) The Trooper and the Maid
6.) The Farewell Song

I suppose this doesn't help?

alistair_banfield at hotmail dot com


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 12:14 AM

Following Guest Alistair's post, and his use of word 'however' ~~~ I knew Anne·Wilson/Nancy·Whiskey quite well in the 50s, was a regular at her club with v early membership # on which she would sometimes comment as I checked in, and heard her sing dozens of times. And to my recollection I never heard her sing "Nancy Whiskey". She might have taken her name from the song, but it was not part of her repertoire.

Does anyone actually remember her ever singing it?


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: GUEST,Guest Uk
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 03:16 PM

Thanks for your reply, at least you've mentioned some other titles, but I'm sure this was on an EP with other artists and that's why it seems so hard to find.
thanks anyway.
Mike


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Subject: RE: Origins:Nancy Whiskey
From: meself
Date: 18 Mar 10 - 03:32 PM

Surprised no one's mentioned - now, what's it called? The Langford Weaver? - that Andy Irvine recorded. Clearly somehow related to Nancy Whiskey - same story, a couple of the same phrases - but, different. In The Langford Weaver, it's 'Nancy's whiskey'. Nancy is the proprietress of a drinking establishment, but, as in the more popular version/song, can be taken as a metaphor for the drink itself, if you are so inclined.


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: Lighter
Date: 09 Nov 10 - 04:17 PM

From a garland called "The Rocks of Scilly" (Limerick: Printed by W. Goggin, [?1800]), pp. 2-3:

                           NANCY WHISKEY

Seven long Years I have been weaving
To save the price of a suit of Cloaths,
And when the money I had all together,
I went to by them as you may suppose.

As I walked down Frances-Street
Sweet Nancy Whiskey I chanc'd to sm[ell,]
I had a mind to call and see her
For s[ev]en long years I lov'd her well.

The door being open I walked into the parlour
[A]sked her pardon for making so free
[And] Nancy caught me in her arms,
Saying you are welcome sweet Billy.

[T]h[en] we sit down and enjoyed each other,
The more we drank the more we loved,
[Bu]t Nancy's charms sweet Nancy Whiskey,
Sweet Nancy's charms my ruin prov'd.

My Nancy she soon overcame me,
And on the table I laid my head,
But when she found I was so tipsy,
Immediately from me she fled.

Beside she broke my legs and arms,
But never before used me so Ill,
And if I'd spend ten Pounds upon her,
Sweet Nancy Whiskey I loved you still

But when I awakened in the morning,
I found myself in a strange Bed,
I thought to rise but was not able,
For Nancy's charms was in my head,

Then I call'd out unto the lanlady,
And asked her what was to pay.
She said there is two and thirty Shillings,
Come pay it friend and go your way.

I put my hand into my pocket,
I paid the lanlady my reck'ning down,
And all the money I had left,
I do declare it was half a Crown.

But as I came down Thomas street,
An old acquaintance I chancd to spy,
And on him I spent two and two Pence,
Then all I had left was one bandy boy.

But now my sporting days are over,
I'll leave my Nancy for a while,
She may seek out for a new lover,
Until kind fortune does on me smile,

I'll go to my room and sit in my loom,
And let this teaster go with the rest,
But of all the liquor I ever paid for,
Sweet Nancy Whiskey I love you best.


All peculiarities sic. Bracketed material is almost illegible. A "bandy boy" and a "teaster" both meant "sixpence."


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: Effsee
Date: 09 Nov 10 - 10:38 PM

Half a crown was two shillings and six pence, if he spent two and tuppence the he would have had four pence left.
I've never heard the terms "bandy boy" or "teaster" used in Scots language!


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Subject: ADD Version: Calton Weaver (from Ord)
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 10 Nov 10 - 02:04 PM

THE CALTON WEAVER

I am a weaver, a Calton weaver,
An' I'm a rash and a rovin' blade;
I've got some money in my pocket,
An' I go and try the rovin' trade.

As I gaed doon thro' Glasgow city
Nancy Whisky I chanced to smell,
So I gaed and sat doon beside her,
For it's seven years since I loved her well.

The more I kissed her the more I loved her,
The more I kissed her the more she smiled,
Till Nancy Whisky, O Nancy Whisky,
Till Nancy Whisky had me beguiled.

'Twas very early the next morning,
Finding myself in a strange bed,
I went to rise but I was not able,
For Nancy's charms they held my head.

I called the landlady to the parlour,
And asked her what was to pay;
Thirty shillings is the reckoning,
So pay me quickly and go away.

It's I pulled out a purse with money,
And to her the reckoning I did pay down;
I paid to her thirty shillings,
And all that remained was a single crown.

As I gaed down thro' Glasgow city
Nancy Whisky I chanced to smell;
I gaed in and drank four and sixpence,
And a' 'twas left was a crooked scale.

Do I regard one single sixpence,
Or will I lay it up in store?
I'll go back and hae anither gill,
It will help me home to work for more.

Then I'll go back to my old master,
So merry I'll mak' the shuttle fly;
For I'll mak' mair at the Calton weaving
Than ever I did in a roving way.

So, come all ye weavers, ye Calton weavers,
Come all ye weavers whe'er ye be;
Beware of Whisky, Nancy Whisky,
She'll ruin you as she ruined me.


As printed in John Ord's "Bothy Songs and Ballads" (1930), pp372-373, reprinted by John Donald Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh, 1990.
"The old burgh of Calton, now part of the city of Glasgow, was famous for its weavers. Indeed, weaving seems to have been the chief industry there during the first quarter of the last century."


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: mayomick
Date: 10 Nov 10 - 05:32 PM

"And a' 'twas left was a crooked scale. " Verse seven .
Any idea what that means anyone ? A threepenny bit?


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 10 Nov 10 - 07:19 PM

I was going to replace the footnote, but it says in the next verse - sixpence.


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: mayomick
Date: 11 Nov 10 - 01:08 PM

Thanks Dave. I should have worked it out from the next verse.


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 10 Oct 14 - 08:48 AM

Hi Jon,
4 years ago but a belated thankyou anyway. I must have been offline when you replied as I didn't spot your Goggin version.

Strangely since then I have come across another Goggin printing with same title but instead of 12 separate stanzas this one in the ECCO collection has 6 double stanzas.


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 10 Oct 14 - 08:57 AM

On closer inspection we were both looking at the same printing and there are no stanzaic divisions. You translated into single sts and me into doubles.


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: Jack Campin
Date: 10 Oct 14 - 09:08 AM

Originally popularized by Ewan MacColl. He said he learned it from his father, who had put a new tune to it be ceause he didn't like the old one.

The "new tune" was just "The Barnyards of Delgaty".


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: The Sandman
Date: 10 Oct 14 - 09:14 AM

thats intersting jack thanks for the info.


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: voyager
Date: 10 Oct 14 - 12:14 PM

Here's my NC outside the epononymous water hole in NYC -
http://securityfeeds.net/tweil/nyc_trip/pages/family1.htm

Always liked the Ian and Sylvia version.

voyager


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey
From: voyager
Date: 10 Oct 14 - 12:16 PM

Nancy Whiskey Pub - NYC (2005)


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Mar 15 - 11:57 PM

Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song. I thought there's be more.

Nancy Whisky

DESCRIPTION: The weaver sets out to sample the pleasures of drink and a roving life. After extensive drinking, he finds himself broke and despised. He vows to return to weaving, and warns others of the evil of drink
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907
KEYWORDS: drink poverty weaving warning
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,South),Scotland(Aber,Bord)) Ireland
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Greig #90, p. 1, "The Dublin Weaver" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 603, GreigDuncan8 Addenda, "Nancy Whisky" (9 texts, 7 tunes)
Ord, pp. 372-373, "The Calton Weaver" (1 text)
McMorland-Scott, pp. 132-133, 155, "Nancy's Whisky" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 279, "Nancy Whisky" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H745, pp. 47-48, "Long Cookstown/Nancy Whiskey" (1 text, 1 tune)
Graham/Holmes 42, "Long Cookstown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 234, "The Calton Weaver" (1 text)
DT, CALTONWV
ADDITIONAL: Willie Scott, "Nancy's Whisky," School of Scottish Studies Archive SA1973.024,Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches accessed 14 September 2013 from http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/89836/1

Roud #883
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, RB.m.143(125), "Nancy Whisky," Poet's Box (Dundee), c.1880-1900
SAME TUNE:
It's Very Strange (per broadside NLScotland, RB.m.143(125))
ALTERNATE TITLES:
I Am a Weaver
NOTES: One title for this song is "The Calton Weaver"; Calton was a village, swallowed up by Glasgow in the early 20th century. - PJS
Also collected and sung by Ellen Mitchell, "The Carlton Weaver" (on Kevin and Ellen Mitchell, "Have a Drop Mair," Musical Tradition Records MTCD315-6 CD (2001)).
GreigDuncan3: "Greig prints a composite text ...." - BS
Last updated in version 3.5
File: K279

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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Mar 15 - 03:11 PM

I can't believe that on a music thread nobody thought to *tape* the scotched argument...


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Jul 21 - 01:36 AM

Way too late here, I know, but I’m not sure where else to turn. I’m on the hunt for a very specific version of Nancy Whiskey. I visited Scotland for the first time with my wife in summer 2018 and we took a tour bus to various locales. The tour guide played a selection of Celtic music and one of the songs had a repeating refrain that is in my head to this day, yet all other versions I’ve found are too fast-paced. This one was more melancholy, almost like a church hymn and slightly altered lyrics from the popular version:

Oh, the whiskey…
Nancy’s whiskey.
Oh, the whiskey…
Nancy, oh!

Whiskey, whiskey…
Nancy’s whiskey.
Oh, the whiskey…
Nancy, oh!

Any help would be appreciated! I tend to renew my search for this song every now and then, but still no luck after three years.


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: GUEST,Jon Bartlett
Date: 22 Jul 21 - 03:15 PM

My friend Stu James sings this. I'll email him.
Jon


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: voyager
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 08:00 PM

I met my wife (Nancy) 40+ years ago when I sold her a pint of Bushmills here in Colorado. And I've always loved the Ian/Sylvia Tyson version - Nancy Whiskey (Ian and Sylvia)

It's always curious to me the rules/syntax for Whisky / Whiskey. Our cat is Whiskey (named for a cache of booze) found in the Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton's winter cabin, where cases of booze were excavated from the floor boards of his winter cabin (circa 1907 or thereabouts). Full story here -
Shackleton's Whiskey

hic ...
voyager


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: meself
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 09:40 PM

"Shackleton's Whiskey" just doesn't have the same ring as "Nancy's Whiskey", though, does it?


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Sep 23 - 03:19 PM

you have to drink Shackleton's with ice


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Sep 23 - 03:19 PM

you have to drink Shackleton's with ice


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: voyager
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 08:00 PM

I met my wife (Nancy) 40+ years ago when I sold her a pint of Bushmills here in Colorado. And I've always loved the Ian/Sylvia Tyson version - Nancy Whiskey (Ian and Sylvia)

It's always curious to me the rules/syntax for Whisky / Whiskey. Our cat is Whiskey (named for a cache of booze) found in the Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton's winter cabin, where cases of booze were excavated from the floor boards of his winter cabin (circa 1907 or thereabouts). Full story here -
Shackleton's Whiskey

hic ...
voyager


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Subject: RE: Origins: Nancy Whiskey / Calton Weaver
From: meself
Date: 22 Sep 23 - 09:40 PM

"Shackleton's Whiskey" just doesn't have the same ring as "Nancy's Whiskey", though, does it?


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