Dull the Glintin
[The Lament for Wee Nancy o' St Quivox]

The craw perches by the yett
~ Flee, hoodie, flee
There's cauld clinker in the grate
~ Wheesht, chookie, wheesht

Ch:
And I'll haud ye, and I'll rock ye
And I'll kaim yer fair pow
And I'll calm and soothe ye
My wee shilpit sowl

Sun's no risen in the sky
~ Flee, hoodie, flee
Dull the glintin in her eye
~ Wheesht, chookie, wheesht

Ch

Still the burnie's spill and rush
~ Flee, hoodie, flee
Hawthorn pale her cheeks' rose blush
~ Wheesht, chookie, wheesht

Ch

Nae star glimmers in the east
~ Flee, hoodie, flee
There's nae suck fae her cauld breist
~ Wheesht, chookie, wheesht

Ch

There's nae siller in my haund
~ Flee, hoodie, flee
My last twa pence dark her dawn
~ Wheesht, chookie, wheesht

Ch

Laverock's silent ower the braes
~ Flee, hoodie, flee
Saft yer mammie's braw deid claes
~ Wheesht, chookie, wheesht

Ch

Hush, my doo, I'll lay ye doon
~ Flee, hoodie, flee
Share yer dreams in her wee room
~ Wheesht, chookie, wheesht

And I held ye, and I rocked ye
And I kaimed yer fair pow
And I calmed and soothed ye
My wee shilpit sowl

The craw perches by the yett

A dirge / lullaby of a song, quite a poetic composition, working with compression of ideas and imagery. If you wander around any Scots kirkyard with gravestones from the 1800s, you'll find stories of families who lost most or all of their children within a very short period, often with one or both parents dying as well - communities were decimated and ravaged by various plagues or then-fatally virulent and infectious diseases. One stone I came across in the small hamlet of St Quivox near Ayr in southwest Scotland (when attending one of the Common Ground residencies) told such a story, and Wee Nancy was the young girl who had died, along with her siblings and mother, leaving the father alone. This song imagines the grief, the loss and an awful lifelessness, as the father cradles his Wee Nancy.

I've been writing songs for about 30 years now. I returned to Scotland in 1998 from a time abroad (now living in Fife), and my songs since then have come to me mostly in Scots. It's as if the voice and inspiration of a new (or old!) muse had been waiting, bringing whispers on the wind of stories seeking to be told.

My songwriting I'd say is intuitive as I'm not very musically knowledgeable - words and tune tend to come to me as one. I don't read or write music, and couldn't tell you what key or chord my songs are in. I create for my own voice - for an unaccompanied solo delivery.

I mostly (though irregularly) sing at open sessions or singarounds at small folk clubs or at some festivals. I've not recorded professionally or had any of my songs covered by other artists, though there has been some interest. I've been awarded first place at the Aberdeen TMSA competition, and at Newcastleton, for original song in the traditional Scots style - and have received several runner up awards at Newcastleton over the years too. I also have the distinction of having one of my songs"red-carded" at the Glenfarg Folk Feast!