Call and
Answer - this
was written as a pseudo love song, sung in parlor style with large vibrato. Our
version is taken from the amazing Chris Drever (son of Ivan Drever). His pumped
up rhythm and jerky chords is perfect for our ears!
Hosie's Well/View From the Top - The Battle of Harlaw took
place in 1411 on the sloping land to the north of Inverurie. Here the Earl of
Mar and his men fought the Highlanders in a bloody battle.Hosie, a local
man, was on his way to marry his bride when he was persuaded to fight in the
battle instead, postponing his wedding. After the battle, he was imprisoned in
a Hebridean dungeon for
several years. Eventually he escaped and went to find his bride to be. While he
was in prison though she had married someone else.Hosie was heartbroken, and with nothing to live
for, he died and was buried on the hill overlooking Mither Tap. A well near
where he was buried is called “Hosie’s Well” because it was believed
that the water in the well is “nothing but Hosie’s tears”. If you
are going up to Mither Tap via the Maiden Causeway from the Rowan Tree car
park, you will pass it. View from the top - Mither Tap is most
commonly known as 'Bennache'. there is a Pictish stone fort at the top, and a
large metal marker pointing out all the things you should be able to see from
this prominent place. We waited for a clear day to hike it, only to be
overtaken by a cloud. We still never saw a thing from the top!
On the Road
to Drumleman - (The local way of pronouncing
Durmlemble, which is on Kintyre). The
nearest place to nowhere and the furthest from anywhere .....Willie Mitchell wrote the words in 1948, and Tony
Cuffe put it to this particular melody. The flat ground which lies between
Drumlemble and, at the far end, Westport, is known as The Laggan. only 14 miles across the Irish sea, from
Northern Ireland, but 140 to Glasgow.
Banks of the
Seaway - a
Canadian love song
... the
pebble's wish... - How I love rocks. I was communing with a particularly wonderful
group of rocks when I noticed the pebbles...
the ones who get ignored. This
poem came from that conversation:
I could wish to be a mountain
To be lofty and grand
To set awe in the eyes
Of those who look up at me
To have different weather
At my head and feet
But I wish
To be pebble-like
Of any plain color of gray
or brown
So I could slumber in the
scented shade of a cedar
Or be slime covered at the
edge of a singing stream
Perhaps plucked by a small
child's hand
And gleefully tossed into
a puddle
Or... my very best wish...
To be lowly, insignificant
and plain
To be pushed gently aside
By the blades of a glacier
lily
Pushing up in spring
Then to abide near the
green stalk
For the growing season
To lie on the Mother's
breast
And feel her heart beat
Peaceful - content
Among all her jewels
False
Knight/John Stenson's #2 - a song collected by Alan Lomax in Northern Ireland. The singer
told him, that children were not to go out at night for fear of 'meeting the devil'.
If they DID meet the devil, they were to stand perfectly still. Thus 'she
stood, and she stood, and fare well she stood'. It is an amazing Appalachian
sounding piece on the dulcimer! Thanks to Mary Tulin for sharing this one!
The Viking's
Bride -
a tale of woe for the Sea King and the bride
Maggie Walls - A
monument of stones approximately 20 feet high, stands near the village of
Dunning Scotland - Perthshire, with these words "Maggie Wall - burnt here
1657 - as a witch". While she is a
mystery as there are no records of her. The earliest record of the monument
itself which lies inside 'Maggie Walls Wood', is 1829. It is possible this stands as a memorial to
all 1500 women burned as witches in Scotland. A reminder of the injustices and
a powerfully dark time for women...
Dublin Lady
- One of the
very first songs we learned together, still love it.
Comb Your
Hair/Lads of Lois - thanks to Jim Schulz for teaching us these fine tunes!
The Dutchman
- Ken played this before I ever
knew him. He taught it to me during our time in little local restaurants near
our home in Montana. We even played it for the man himself (Michael Smith) one
night! It just never fit the 'Celtic'
mold we made for ourselves, but now...
it just needs to be sung!
Thereafter...
peace...
- I was asked to write a dulcimer tune for a film production about the ending
of the Civil War at Appomatix. I needed
to come up with a melody that sounded true to the story but didn't interfere
with it. It didn't really have a
title... Then we had our summer from hell...
fire raging within a mile of our home, evacuated for 9 days. Then my
mother passed away. When August finally ended, the name came to me... thereafter... peace... please.
Saints and
Sinners - I
find this message SO very powerful.
Religion has caused so much death, destruction, misery... and yet people turn to it in time of
need. I feel just like Mr.
Francey... I see no sign of a greater
plan, just the joy and the sorrow of my fellow man.
Song for
Yesterday - We used to be drawn to songs about youth, and true love. Now,
aging musicians really connect with songs about aging. This is such a beautiful sentiment. A 'dunter' is a wee bird who feeds along the
ebb when the tides go out. My Orkney friends tell me it is an amazing
singer... can't wait to return and hear
one!