The Barnyards o Delgaty
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1960.142.A13
Original Tape ID
Summary
In this popular bothy ballad, a young man is hired at Turriff market to work at Delgaty farm. Although the farmer promises him the best pair of horse in the area, they prove to be nothing but skin and bone, and are difficult to work. He describes his life outside work, with lasses winking at him in church. The ill-trickit [ill-natured] jaud [hussy] Jean MacPherson fills his bed with prickly whins. He boasts of his popularity with women. As the songs closes, the singer bid us farewell, promising never to return to the farm.
Item Notes
7 verses of 4 lines with vocable refrain. The Delgaty estate is a mile north-east of Turriff.
See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 3, pp. 3-9
'Scotland Sings' (E. MacColl, 1953) p. 84
'101 Scottish Songs' (N. Buchan, 1962) pp. 36-37
'Bothy Songs & Ballads' (J. Ord, 1930) pp. 214-215
'Scottish Ballad Book' (N. Buchan, 1973) pp. 191-192, 216
'Folksongs of Britain & Ireland' (P. Kennedy, 1975) p. 530
'Kerr's Cornkisters' (W. Kemp & J. S. Kerr, 1950) pp. 29-30
'A Collection of Scots Songs' (A. Munro & H. Henderson, 1972) pp. 8-9
'Folk-Song of the North-East' (G. Greig, K. Goldstein, A. Argo, 1963 reprint) art. IV
Item Location
County - Aberdeenshire
Parish - Turriff
Village/Place - Delgaty, Barnyards Farm
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair