In some of my previous posts, it was suggested that I was singing with an English accent.  Whilst I am probably technically more English that I am Scottish if you trace my ancestry, I consider myself Scottish and proud of it!!!  (I wasn't offended by the way, the comment was totally correct!)

To buck the trend from singing Nick Drake and John Martyn, this is a very old (1808) Scottish poem called Gloomy Winter, by poet Robert Tannahill.  It is played the way Dougie MacLean does it, but the tuning adjusted to D#GCGCE, because it sounded better like that to my ear.  At least I can sound Scottish on this!!

If anyone is interested, I can do my best to explain what it all means.

http://www.box.net/shared/y4pz4krm4x

Thank you for listening.

:donut :donut2

Thanks Ben.

You do sound Scottish on this. It sounds great but, yes, I could use an explanation of its meaning.

The original Robert Tannahill Poem

Gloomy winter's now awa',
Saft the westlan' breezes blaw,
'Mang the birks o' Stanley shaw
The mavis sings fu' cheery, O;
Sweet the crawflower's early bell
Decks Gleniffer's dewy dell,
Blooming like thy bonnie sel',
My young, my artless deary, O

Come, my lassie, let us stray
O'er Glenkilloch's sunny brae,
Blithely spend the gowden day
'Midst joys that never weary, O. 

Towering o'er the Newton woods,
Lav'rocks fan the snaw-white clouds,
Siller saughs, wi' downy buds,
Adorn the banks sae briery, O;
Round the sylvan fairy nooks,
Feathery breckans fringe the rocks,
'Neath the brae the burnie jouks,
And ilka thing is cheery, O;

Trees may bud, and birds may sing
Flowers may bloom, and verdure spring,
Joy to me they canna' bring,
Unless wi' thee, my dearie, O. 

And my best attempt at a translation - anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong

Gloomy winter is now away
Soft the westerly wind blows
Amongst the birch trees of Stanley woods,
The Mavis (female song thrush) sings cheerily
Sweet the bluebells first blooms
decks Gleniffers dewy valley
Blooming like your beautiful self
My young and carefree dear

Come my girl let us walk
over Glenkilloch's sunny hill
happily and without a care spend a sunny day
with joy that is never weary

High above the Newton woods
The larks fan the snow white clouds
Willow bushes with furry buds
Adorn the banks so prickly/tangly
Amongst the silvery fairies hiding places
feathery breakers hit the rocks
Beneath the road
the river jinks
and everything is cheery

Trees may bud and birds may sing
Flowers may bloom and bring the first greenery of spring
but joy tome this cannot bring
Unless i am with you, my dear.

Stanley, Gleniffer, Newton woods and Glenkilloch are all places in and around central Scotland.

Hope this is helpful
:donut

Ben:

You could tour college campuses and clubs in the states and pack them in. Great job, interpretation and explanation. Thanks for sharing.

Oh Ben, Ben, Ben, I'm speechless matey, FANTASTIC! Thankyou  :+1:  :+1:  :+1:
cheers
fongie

Thanks Ben.  It was very nice as we have come to expect from you.  It's got a melancholy feel that meshes well with the descriptive words that deal with winter's depressing nature, but it also speaks of the promise of spring so it's also hopeful.  Your delivery has captured both conflicting emotions and married them which I can only guess is the poet's intent.

          DAVE

By the way, I've recently learned that the band, The Tannahill Weavers, is named for this poet.  I've not yet heard their music, but somehow feel that I will like it when I do.

            DAVE

Thank you everyone, very kind words.  Even my wife just listened to this without grimacing, so i will consider that as progress  :laughin:

Thanks for the translation/interpretation Ben! Singing and playing are not your only talents.

Another top effort, Ben.   That was great, and thanks for sharing it.

Thanks Rockhound - and you will probably recognise a number of the places mentioned in the song too!!  WileE - us Scottish folk still speak just like that, while we wear our skirts and hunt haggis :laughin:

Is that before or after a few wee drams?  :cheers

very, very nice.....vocal and picking....

yes, you would have no problem getting an audience...

my deepest roots are Scottish - we have a family cemetary on the old farm place that goes back 5 or more generations...
here in Tennessee.

The original log home built by my great-great - etc  grandpa was still beging lived in until about 1970 - when it was replaced by a new brick home -   a lot of good memories of that old place -

- Larry

Very nicely done Ben, you can certainly allow yourself to be carried away listening to this mate, very moving.


Cheers, scott.

Being a Dougie MacLean fan since the Eighties, how can I not like this ?
Beautiful music, BenF  :thumb

Thanks for the kind words guys.

I have had a little confidence crisis (I tend to have them all the time) and considered deleting all the tracks I have done because I hear all the mistakes and inadequacies.  The support I have got here has really driven me on to keep practicing, recording and trying new songs, and without it I honestly think I would still be resigned to not singing or recording like I was 6 months ago.

:beer

Ben--

If you consistently sound this good with"all the misakes and inadequicies" that ONLY you can hear, then I look forward to more.  It's a healthy thing, I think, to expect more from ourselves.  Complacency breeds mediocrity.  You've obviously put alot of yourself into these pieces.  I really appreciate that you share them with us.

          DAVE  :thumb :wave

this is cool. by the way, i'm like half to 3 quarters scottish myself.

this sounds like something right out of the of the old country.

very nice!

Quote from: ncognito on July 17, 2009, 10:11:02 PM
By the way, I've recently learned that the band, The Tannahill Weavers, is named for this poet.  I've not yet heard their music, but somehow feel that I will like it when I do.

            DAVE

The Tanny's are AWESOME! Our folk society had them play a coffee house, five or six months ago, and they kicked. Superb playing and fantastic harmonies. The bouzouki
player was ill with fever and flu, but still played superbly thanks to, as he put it, a few drams of Scott libation prior to the set! By the way the name is from a cobination of Robert Tannahill and the fact that the band originates from the town of Paisley(where the famous pattern comes from) which wasa weaving industry town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acGhLMm7ms4

just an example of the tannahill weavers. There is quite a lot of live stuff on YouTube if you just search for their name.