Lyr Req: The Shuttle Rins (Henry Symes)

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Lyr Req: The Shuttle Rins (Henry Symes)

23 Oct 04 - 01:26 PM (#1304881)
Subject: Lyr Req: the shuttle runs
From: GUEST,Yuval Berger

Greetings to all,
Does anyone have the lyrics of a song called "The shuttle runs" (I think) The chorus says somthing like:

Thanks
Yuval

23 Oct 04 - 01:49 PM (#1304901)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the shuttle runs
From: Malcolm Douglas

It's often difficult for people to find Scottish songs, as not only does Scottish spelling vary a good deal, but people who transcribe lyrics by ear from records often have rather odd ideas about what they are hearing and how best to spell it! In this case, searching for shuttle rins would get you better results, but still not many.

The song is originally from Henry Symes's book Poems and Songs Chiefly for the Encouragement of the Working Classes (1849), and the tune is, so far as I remember, one of those associated with the older song The Boatie Rows. The Shuttle Rins appeared in Norman Buchan and Peter Hall, The Scottish Folksinger (1973) and has subsequently been recorded by various people including Gordeanna McCulloch.

23 Oct 04 - 03:11 PM (#1304962)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the shuttle runs
From: GUEST,Thanks a million!

So what does "shuttle" and "rins" stand for in this case?
Yuval

23 Oct 04 - 03:17 PM (#1304973)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the shuttle runs
From: Malcolm Douglas

"Shuttle" as in the shuttle of a loom; "rins" is just a dialectal form of "runs" (hence the confusion). With luck, someone will post the song and tune for you; if not I'll try to find time to do it myself.

23 Oct 04 - 09:19 PM (#1305248)
Subject: Lyr & Tune Add: THE SHUTTLE RINS
From: masato sakurai

X:1
T:THE SHUTTLE RINS
M:2/4
L:1/8
B:Buchan & Hall, The Scottish Folksinger, p. 22
K:D
D|"D"F/A3/2 A3/2B/|Ad "G"(e/d/) (c/B/)|"D"A3/2F/ (ED)|"A7"(FE) zD|
w:1.The wea-ver's wife sits at the fire,_ And_ ca's the pirn_ wheel,_ She
"D"F3/2A/ A3/2B/|Ad "G"(e/d/) (c/B/)|"D"A3/2F/ "A7"E/F3/2|D3 A|
w:likes to hear her ain gude-man_ Drive_ on the shut-tle weel. (Ch.)The
"D"dA AB|dA Ad|"G"B3/2A/ Bd|"A7"e3 c|
w:shut-tle rins, the shut-tle rins, The shut-tle rins wi' speed; Oh
"D"df "G"Bd|"D"A3/2d/ AF|"G"E3/2D/ "A7"E3/2F/|D3||
w:sweet-ly may the shut-tle rin, That wins the bairn's_ bread.

2 Thread after thread maks up the claith,
    Until the wage he wins,
    And ilka weaver maks the mair,
    The mair his shuttle rins.

3 He rises early in the morn,
    He toils fu' late at night,
    He fain wad independent be--
    He kens what is his right.

4 Although he has nae dainty fare,
    His wages being sma',
    Yet he can, wi' his thrifty wife,
    Keep hungry want awa'.

5 He fondly soothes a neebor's grief,
    Or shares a neebor's glee;
    And fain to gie his bairns lair
    He gars the shuttle flee.

6 State cormorants may craw fu' crouse*, [*bold]
    An' haughty be an' prude,
    But were they paid by "ells o' keels,"
    They wadna laugh sae loud.

7 The proudest o' the land wad pine
    Without the weaver's wark;
    The pamper'd priest, the haughty peer,
    Wad gang without a sark.

25 Oct 04 - 04:31 AM (#1306391)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the shuttle runs
From: GUEST,Thanks!

You've been a great help.   Could you explain to me the following phrases?
1 - "And fain to gie his bairns lair
    He gars the shuttle flee."

2 - " But were they paid by "ells o' keels,"
    They wadna laugh sae loud."
Also, is "rins" pronounced as "runs" or as in "pins" "tins" etc.?
Yuval

25 Oct 04 - 10:08 AM (#1306568)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the shuttle runs
From: Malcolm Douglas

And, keen to give his children an education ¹
He makes the shuttle fly

But if they were paid by the yard ²
They wouldn't laugh so loud.

¹ "Lair" has several meanings, and might also mean "a place to lay their heads" in this context.

² An "ell" was actually just over a yard, at 37.0578 inches ("Scotch ell") or 38.416 inches ("plaiden ell"). A "keel" is "a mark on the warp showing the weaver where to cut his cloth".

"Rins" is pronounced pretty much as spelled.

There is a final verse which Masato has missed:

Then cheer your hearts, ye workin' men,
An' a' like brithers be;
Rouse up against restrictive laws,
And set industry free.

25 Oct 04 - 11:02 AM (#1306621)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the shuttle runs
From: masato sakurai

Thanks, Malcolm. The last verse is on the next page.

22 Dec 12 - 09:17 PM (#3456004)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Shuttle Rins
From: GUEST

I can remember being taught this song in my primary school in Andover, Hampshire (England!) around 1973... the words stuck in my brain like glue, for whatever reason.