Lyr Req: Wangle o the Isles (Bill Hill)

Subject: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: GUEST,Raggytash
Date: 25 Sep 02 - 10:13 AM

Many years ago I saw Bill Hill in the Orkneys, one of the songs he sang was the Wangle o the Isles to a well known tune. It's one of those which keeps popping out of the memory banks. Does anyone have the words to this or any of his other songs.

Subject: Lyr Add: A SCOTTISH HOLIDAY (from the Corries)
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 25 Sep 02 - 05:55 PM

I have a recording by The Corries who call it A Scottish Holiday. It doesn't seem to be in the DT, and a forum search returned an error, so here you go:


A SCOTTISH HOLIDAY
(Trad / J. W. Hill)

So you think you're gaein' tae the north to spend a holiday
'Cause you're vaguely Scottish on your mither's side
And you've heard of ancient glories both renowned in song and story
Kilts and haggis, Andy Stewart and the Clyde

Ye go up by Crianlarich, it's the gateway to the north
And the scenery will please your eyes I'm sure
Ye take oot your picnic basket 'cause the car has blown a gasket
In the middle o' a place called Rannoch Moor

So you telephone the garage listed in the tourist guide
That was published for you by the R.A.C.
But by design, or by intention, or, they just forget to mention
That the garage closes doon for half past three

So you're towed behind this tractor tae a corrugated shed
That's surrounded by farm implements and carts
And you scratch your head and wonder why you ever bought a Honda
'Cause they'll have to send to Tokyo for the parts

So you board the train for Oban and you get the boat to Mull
Feeling like you've had a night upon the tiles
Ye pay twenty pence for coffee with a tang o' diesel oil
Your experience in the swindle o' the isles

But your pulse begins to quicken at the thought of berry-pickin'
So you take a trip to 'Gowrie for a spell
Wi' some wellies o' your mothers that she bought in Ali Brothers
And a Gideon bible pinched frae yer hotel

So you're standing picking rasps being stung to death by wasps
The midges and the clegs are making free
And the bairns have ate the berries and contracted dysentery
'Cause last week they sprayed the crop with DDT

So you're headin' back to Birmingham more waterlogged than tanned
But no signs of habitation can you see
When you thought you were in Berwick you were actually in Lerwick
'Cause some vandal changed the signpost in Dundee


clegs - horseflies
Tune: Road to the Isles

Subject: Lyr Add: LEO McGUIRE'S SONG
From: Mr Happy
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 03:39 AM

And here's another version:

LEO McGUIRE'S SONG [Parody: The Road to the Isles]

Ah wis headin' wi ma cromack up frae Gretna Green tae Skye
But ma journey has an element of farce.
'Cos the calendar has stated - it's the middle o' July,
Yet here ah am wi' snaw up tae ma arse, Oh - yo!

(Chorus) Wi' ma pipes below ma oxter an' ma sporran neatly pressed
Ma pockets full o' porridge for the road.
Wi' some Crawford's Tartan Shortbread an' some tattie scones as weel
An' ah'm jist aboot tae paint masel' wi' woad. Oh - yo!

I am headin' for sweet Afton, that's the place that ah am daft on,
Where the smell o' tattie bogle fills the air.
If ye poke amang the heather wi' a feather ye will see
Where the untamed hornie-golluck has his lair. Oh - yo!

Ah remember Annie Laurie, sure, ah had her in a quarry
On the road frae Tobermory tae the sea.
Ah remember Mountain Daisy, an' that lassie wisnae lazy,
'Cos ah remember Daisy mountin' me. Oh - Yo!

Ah remember gettin' pally wi' a peely-wally 'tally,
In a chalet doon at Butlin's camp at Ayr.
An' ah gied her a bambino as she lay an' read "The Beano"
Then she said, well how did she know ah wis there? Oh - yo!

Ah wis jist a wee bit randy as she lay an' read "The Dandy"
Then she went an' put a pot upon the hob.
An' she made me tagliatelli, which she balanced on her belly
So's ah could eat while ah wis on the job. Oh - yo!

By the time the job wis over, she wis halfway through "The Rover"
An' had started on that week's "People's Friend"
An' she made me veal escalope an' we had another wallop
Before ma strong desire came to an end.

Oh the Scottish Summers have a certain lack of charm,
Due mainly to the sudden rainy squalls.
But the Scottish lassies can aye keep her laddie warm
By their tender ministration to his knees. Oh - yo!

(Verses 1-7 use the A part of "The Road To The Isles" tune - the last verse
is the B part or chorus tune)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 04:06 AM

I think the song you refer to is , as has been suggested, the Corries "Swindle o' the Isles". Another song I used to hear Bill singing a lot [I can't vouch for authorship] was "The Kelty Clippie".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 04:09 AM

Looked for "the Kelty Clippie " in the database, came up blank.[????]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: GUEST,Raggytash
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 07:59 AM

Suzanne (SKW) ............Thank you for that, thats a pint or three if ever we should meet up. Thanks also to Mr Happy and Boab for their efforts

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 12:39 PM

"Kelty Clippie" is from the pen of John Watt, the Bard of Fife.

If it isn't in the Database it ought to be ....

Murray

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: GUEST,Murray Mac Leod
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 12:44 PM

Malcolm Douglas posted the lyrics for The Kelty Clippie

Murray

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 07:39 PM

Raggytash, whaur do Ah go fer ma pint? :-)
I just got a new Corries newsletter with the announcement that a CD of their humorous songs is imminent. This is definitely one I won't be tempted by. The above song (clearly named 'A Scottish Holiday' on the sleeve, btw) is one of the few better efforts at humour they've recorded. Their own attempts are more often than not plain embarrassing. E.g. I used to have the 'Sunday Driver' down as 'Sunday drivel' ...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: weerover
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 01:46 AM

Bill Hill has also recorded the song. The album (which I lent to someone in the days before I realised you never get them back) is called "Miscellaneous Dross" and I think on the Pan-Audio label

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: GUEST,Raggytash
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 03:58 AM

Susanne, Beer can be claimed at Both Sides of the Tweed festival next weekend. Raggy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 05:00 PM

Enjoy yourself and have a pint in my honour! I'll be on my way back from Norway to my hometown of Kiel, and be thinking of you. Next year, maybe?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: Raggytash
Date: 28 Sep 02 - 01:02 PM

You may hold me to that, either at Both Sides of the Tweed, or numerous other fests in the North of England. Where have you been in Norway? Spent a month there many many years ago

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: goatfell
Date: 16 Jul 09 - 07:56 AM

i like the corries funny songs, better than the shit you get now

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bill Hill - Wangle o the Isles
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 16 Jul 09 - 08:06 AM

Another of Bill Hill's funniest and best known songs is the Portree Kid: it doesn't seem to be in the DT tho' has been posted by Giok on another thread.
So how does a song get from being written out on a thread into the DT? It definitely should be there!
thread.cfm?threadid=100354#2010922

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Wangle o the Isles (Bill Hill)
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Jun 14 - 05:00 AM

Pretty certain that's, "You're (or ye're) experiencin' the swindle..."