Songs from Trick or Treaters?

Subject: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 01 - 12:53 AM

My children are once again looking forward to trick-or-treating this year, and my son remarked this evening that he has the song planned for the Scottish lady down the block (we live in Texas). She tells the children at the door that if they have a song, she gives nicer candy. General trick or treating only gets the penny candy. Some of the songs my kids have sung are common playground songs ("Never Laugh When A Hearse Goes By") or songs I learned as a kid ("My Sweetheart's A Mule in the Mine"). Something modern off of the radio wouldn't occur to us. (g)

Is this a Scottish tradition, or just a rather charming tradition in my Scottish neighbor's family?

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Oct 01 - 01:04 AM

HeyaSRS, not sure if this one came from Scotland and I think it is meant to be sung the next day, but it's got a pretty, familiar tune and I've always enjoyed singing it:

SOUL CAKES (round)

This will be a fun one to see the responses to, thanks!

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: alison
Date: 22 Oct 01 - 01:12 AM

if they really want to impress the Scottish lady down the road.. teach them to sing Coulter's candy

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: cyder_drinker
Date: 22 Oct 01 - 07:32 PM

Isn't "Trick or Treat" a 'merkin tradition? When the scrounging brats come to my door (if I'm in) they get told where to go.

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 22 Oct 01 - 09:32 PM

The singing of a song before getting your treat is very much a Scottish tradition. I used to do it myself as a child, and that wasn't yesterday. The kids in Edinburgh were still doing it three years ago to my certain knowledge.

Murray

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Oct 01 - 11:21 PM

So, Murray, what were some of the songs you sang?

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 22 Oct 01 - 11:35 PM

Ohmigod Kat you are testing my memory now! But I do remember that they would not be full-blown songs, more like the chorus of one song, followed perhaps by the chorus of another.

There were no real "Halloween" songs that I remember. Current chart songs would be just as likely to be sung as traditional. I do have a vague memory of singing "Molly Malone" at Halloween once, (hardly traditional Scottish I know) but that may have been as a party piece, rather than at somebody's door.

I am sure the memories will trickle back ..........

Murray

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: alison
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 12:53 AM

we didn't call it "trick or treating"... but I can't remember what we did call it...... we used to sing......

Hallowe'en is coming and the goose is getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 01:29 AM

"Are ye haudin Hall'een?" was the cry all over Scotland. We sang, danced, "dooked for aipples", and gamely tried to eat treacle-dripping scones suspended from a line over a tarp in somebody's living room. No ebntertainment, no reward; "trick or treat" was unknown there, until tv brought it acroos the pond.Most people [ in the Uk--] abhor this North American way of celebrating Halloween, although there is no shortage of would-be"hard men" who would revel in not only the implication of a threat, but would gleefully carry it out. Perish the day if it ever arrives in Scotland."Trick or treaters" who arrived at my door NEVER went away in profit.

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 01:30 AM

Awee BTW--

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 01:33 AM

----to all who think the celebration of All Hallows Eve originated in North America, may I refer you again to the works of Robert Burns--[-:)] Sorry about the double posting!

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 05:11 AM

Not true that "trick or treat" was unknown, Boab, although it was never called that I grant you, but the principle was the same.

It was a common prank at Halloween in the Highlands to remove gates from their hinges and hide them, and also to attach stones to window frames with a piece of string, hide behind a bush, and tap them gently on the window pane with a long piece of string, to get the inhabitant annoyed.

I cringe as I remember ........but yes, we dooked for apples too, and did the treacle scone thing.

Murray

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: Grab
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 08:41 AM

Down in "Lankyshire" we had sticky iced buns on strings, to be eaten without the use of hands. As I remember, eating from underneath was perilious, since eventually the bun would give way and you'd get an eyeful of icing. And apple-bobbing was always a good way of washing the face, hair, clothes, floor and everything else.

Alison, you sure you're not getting confused with Xmas?

Graham.

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: alison
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 10:56 AM

no we did it for Hallowe'en.... along with bobbing for apples, and hanging apples from string to be eaten without hands.... and we made toffee apples and apple tarts with pennies hidden in them........

we also had "indoor fireworks" (not allowed the real thing in Belfast).... so we had sparklers and tablets that burned with a flame that changed colours......

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: weepiper
Date: 23 Oct 01 - 01:44 PM

We dooked for apples but we also had another game that involved apples in a washing up bowlful of water, you stood on a chair with the bowl on the floor and tried to spear an apple by dropping a fork on it. Also made turnip lanterns before pumpkins were widely available - carving a neep is MUCH harder though.
We did go guising ('trick or treating') too though only to houses of family and friends, and if you didn't sing you didn't get the goodies. It would only be wee short songs though, I remember one that we learnt at school when I was about 6 that went "Whose pigs are these? Whose pigs are these? They are John Potts, you can tell them by the spots, and I found them in the vicarage garden".
Hardly traditional or Scottish but it made me laugh hysterically when I was 6 :-)

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 24 Oct 01 - 01:31 AM

Oops, Malcolm! Never heard of the Highlands being any different. The prank with the pebbles on the windae was practised by our lot, too, but not exclusively at Halloween. It was carried out by rigging a reel of black thread on the window frame and fixing a wee hard object [button, pebbl;e, whatever] on the end of the reel. Skulking in the darkness you could make that thing cause some racket. [I believe in Glesca they call it "chickie-melly"]

Subject: RE: Songs from Trick or Treaters?
From:
Date: 24 Oct 01 - 04:44 AM

Difference between trick or treating and guising is guising has no threat of anything nasty happening to those who don't give to the kids. If a child calls at my door, in costume, and performs (song, poem, bad joke etc) then they'll probably go away the richer. Any child that threatens me will get nothing and I'll be watching them like a hawk.

I heard that in Glasgow they're so hard they go dooking for chips:-)

Scott