I hae heard the fisher lassies greetan
Like the gulls doun by the dowie quay
There’s a hertrug tae their lanesome singing,
Like a souch attour the tumm’lin sea.
There’s a seamaw on a mast that’s sunken
And it staunds a smaa bit fae the shore
Is it true aa sauls that went doun come hame
For a day tae whaur they bade afore?
I hae seen the mithers in the kirkyaird,
They were murnin for their bonnie sons
Wi their sadness screivit on their faces
And a langin threidit in their psalms
There’s a seamaw on a mast that’s sunken
And it staunds a smaa bit fae the shore
Is it true aa sauls that were tint retour
For a day tae whaur they bade afore?
There’s a tarrock bidan on the herbour
And I feel he’s keenan lang and sair,
Sic I never heard an ooriesome song
As I hear at the birlinn o this year.
There’s a seamaw on a mast that’s sunken
And it staunds a smaa bit fae the shore
Is it true aa sauls that were drount aye walk
For a day tae whaur they bade afore?

I originally wrote a tune called 'The Kittiwake & the Coracle' and approached Willie about writing words to it. He based the lyrics on the Iolaire disaster of 1919 and the idea that drowned sailors come back as seagulls. The title is a Fife Scots word for a young kittiwake. We emailed the song back and forth (it was written via email!) until we had something we were both happy with.