A Shillin or Twa
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1960.142.A11
Original Tape ID
Summary
The singer explains the necessity for people to ensure they always have a little money at hand: it can engender friendship, help young men court women, and provide security in hard times.
Item Notes
5 verses of 8 lines; lines five and six of each verse are a refrain.
John Ord traced this song to a Glagow broadside ballad, which he reproduced in his 'Bothy Songs and Ballads' (1930, pp. 388-389); a copy was also found by Adam MacNaughtan while cataloguing the collection at the Mitchell Library (MacNaughtan No. 2411, Poets' Box, Glasgow, dated 28th April 1877). The broadside possibly derives from a poem of the same name by Canadian-Scot Alexander Hamilton Wingfield (1828-1896): the title, general theme, scansion and character of the refrain are the same.
A different song with the same title (Roud Folk Song Index no. 2178) was composed by William Fleming of Paisley ('Paisley Poets' vol. 2, 1890, pp. 486-487).
See also:
Greig-Duncan vol. 3, p. 563, no. 669
'Poems and Songs' (A. H. Wingfield, 1873) pp. 22-24
'Scottish Poets in America' (J. D. Ross, 1972) pp. 141-142
'Kerr's Cornkisters' (W. Kemp & J. S. Kerr, 1950) pp. 22-23
'Till Doomsday in the Afternoon' (E. MacColl & P. Seeger, 1986) pp. 272-273
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair