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02 May 06 - 09:16 AM (#1732008) Subject: Lyr Add: THE 37 BUS and THE MILNGAVIE SONG From: Ragman This is a spin-off from a thread I began on John Eaglesham. I am looking to collate for posterity the gems of songs which have been written over the years by writers in the West of Scotland, but which have not been written down or recorded. There is certainly a talent here in the West of Scotland for taking a wry look at a real life situation, and making a humerous song about it. The message still hits home - whether the subject is serious or not! The authors I have heard about and want to document more fully include: John Eaglesham, Sean Tierney, Peter Ross, John Murphy... For starters, here are 2 examples: The 37 Bus (Ian McCarry & Tom Docherty) (Tune: Nicky Tams) Ah wiz sittin on the upper deck o' a 37 bus Ah seen big Jimmie swillin wine An' stirrin up a fuss The driver stopped the the bus right sharp an' belted up the stair "Yie can get the Hell right aff this bus if ye gie us any mair" "Pal,no offense "big Jimmie said : "if ye knew what I 've been through Ye widnae say such things tae me or blame a man that's fu' fur Ah lost ma pile on the dugs taenight , Ah'll huv yes fur tae know Fur Ah put down all ma overtime pay on a dug that widnae go" The driver said " Ah dinnae care nor gie a Tinker's curse Yer swearin an yer bawlin is disturbin a' the bus Ah've hud aboot enough of you,a lot more than Ah need If ye dont haud that big tongue o' yours , Ah'll stuff it doon yer heid." Big Jimmie looked up and he sighed and he finished aff his wine He says " The way ye've spoke tae me has went right oot o' line Ah've sorted out 15 like you tae get intae a fight Get doon on yer knees and beg fur help ,yah dirty little shite." At this the bus began tae clear as people got off fast Wi' good auld Glasgow chivalry the wimmen an children last They gathered round and they shouted out fur they didnae like big Jim "Come now driver sink the boot, get stuck right intae him." The driver smiled and waded in kicking and swinging blows Until he got Jim's big square heid aplanted on his nose Jim's (His) knee came up, his fist went doon that wiz the battle o'er So he jumped a couple o' times on his heid as he lay upon the floor An' staightaway the polis came up tae capture Jim In threes an' fours an' dozens , well he laid them oot round him (An when finally they'd sorted out the tiger in his tank) An' when wi' forty stoatin him he finally sensless sank Ah counted fourteen polis hats washed away doon a stank So if ye'er ever sittin on a 37 bus An see big Willie swillin wine and kickin up a fuss Don't try tae act the hero an throw big Jimmie aff Cos the poor old Glasgow polis , They huvnae got the staff. Example No.2: The Milngavie Song (Sean Tierney) (To the tune of "Down By The Bayou") Goodbye Glasgow, we're gonna go, way down by-o Out tae the West, tae get the best that money can buy –o A shangrila, that's no too far fae the toon-o Just far enough tae keep you scruff fae comin' roon-o Chorus In Milngavie, the folks would die if they knew-o The (number of) times we had tae sign doon on the bru-o These days are past, I live life fast, I can't deny-o I've knocked it off, I'm a half-built toff fae Milngavie-o This ideal home has a concrete gnome in the garden It's the nearest thing round here tae a hard man Nae bugs or fleas, dugs daein' pees in your back close-o Oh, everything in Milngavie is so so-so Chorus Well me and the wife, we live a life la dolce vita But there's times we had tae pockle the gas meter Played games of whist, discreetly pissed, on the fly-o Oh ye never know what you miss in Milgavie-o Chorus Oh, sex is in, it's great tae swing with the fast set-o In this x-rated, sex-sated suburban ghetto To the beetle drives that ruled our lives we've said goodbye-o You get better vibes swapping wives in Milngavie-o Chorus Finish by repeating last line of chorus altered to… Youse can all F*** off, I'm a half baked toff from Milngavie-o! |
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05 May 06 - 05:27 PM (#1733572) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West of Sctlnd From: Ragman In Girvan last week, I heard a brilliant East Coast answer to the Glasgow song "Sam The Skull". I can only remember snatches of it (On this occasion, I am blaming the alcohol for my lack of memory) The chorus goes: "I'm a dog I'm a dog I'm a Dundee dog... ... ... And I'm looking for Sam the Skull!" As you might have guessed, It's called "Dundee Doag" (spelt D-O-A-G Doag!). A great song and a great reply to the original. Maybe someone knows it? I didn't get more than a moment to speak to the author, who would have sold me his CD if he had had one in his posession at the time, but we were going in different directions at the time, and didn't meet again. That seems to be the way of the oral tradition nowadays, we don't seem to meet up and have 'soirees' like my family did when I was young, so finding a song again can be a bit of a hit and a miss. |
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05 May 06 - 11:11 PM (#1733776) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotl From: Joe Offer refresh |
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09 May 06 - 06:04 PM (#1736532) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: GUEST,Robert Jones I am looking for information about Sean Tierney. I haven't seen him for years and would appreciate any news. |
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02 Jun 06 - 05:28 PM (#1751903) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: Ragman Sean Tierney sadly passed away in 2000, I think. I also heard that he was an educated man, maybe a lawyer. I never got to meet him. I believe that his passing be due in part to his lifestyle. Sadly missed. |
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03 Jun 06 - 09:10 AM (#1752127) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: GUEST,noddy If you want to hear a good version of "Sam the Skull" listen to Tarneybackle. They hail from Perthshire but are often on the move all around Scotland. |
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03 Jun 06 - 11:43 AM (#1752193) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: Big Tim In the 60s, I knew Sean well, we started in the Mitchell on the same day, 13 August 1962. Unlike me, he was very hip, very intellectual, very well informed. He profesed to be an anarchist, which I had never heard of. (He even looked like Stuart Christie). He was a kindred spirit with Ronnie Alexander (Clutha folk group). I remember I once had an Elvis album in the staff room, and quite proud I was of it too. Sean picked it up and he and Ronnie just about split their sides laughing at it, but he was never nasty. He came from the Govan area I think, certainly he went to St. Gerard's Secondary, Govan. In '62 he was 19, I was 17. He left the Library after 2 or 3 years, took a law degree, and became a college lecturer. Alec Gormlie told me just before he (Alec) died that Sean turned up one night at his flat in Partick, hopelessly drunk. Sorry to end on a sad note but that's the way it was. |
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25 Nov 06 - 06:27 PM (#1893530) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: GUEST,big ed 'Dundee Doag(Dog)' was I reckon, a composition by Steve Ingles from Dundee, Scotland. |
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26 Nov 06 - 08:34 AM (#1893887) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: GUEST,Nellie Clatt Hamish Imlach recorded ' The 37 Bus ; it;s on the newly released compilation ' Cod Liver OIl And The Orange Juice ' |
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07 Dec 06 - 10:04 PM (#1903042) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: Jim Dixon THE 37 BUS has been posted in the forum here and here. |
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08 Dec 06 - 01:03 AM (#1903148) Subject: Lyr Add: THE WAVERLEY POLKA (Jim Brown) From: eddie1 The Waverley Polka (by Jim Brown of Cumbernauld) Chorus: Sailing doon the Clyde on the Waverley, A grand old boat is the Waverley, She'll take ye doon tae Rothesay and be back for tea, The way that she did when you were wee. When the buskers played at the after end, The kind of tunes that were the trend, You were always sure tae meet wi' a friend Afore you left the quay. Oh - When you watched the paddles going round and round And heard the engines thumping sound Then your young happy heart would start tae pound At the thought of reaching the sea And the shipyard lads would wave "hallo" When building ships was all the go With a dozen shipyards in a row But noo there's barely three Now a boat marina soon, they say For the Glasgow docks where the big ships lay Where the rich folks all can sport and play Wi their ain wee Waverleys And everything is "North Sea Oil" Where lads fae here have gone tae toil But tae that wee boat we'll aye be loyal 'Cause there's only one Waverley The tune apparently is "Miss Campbell's Polka" Eddie |
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09 Jul 09 - 11:56 AM (#2675775) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: Ragman Refresh... Any more stories or lyrics please? |
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09 Jul 09 - 12:28 PM (#2675789) Subject: RE: Req:Undocumented gems about Life in West Scotland From: maeve I hope so; These are great! maeve |