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Hallowe​’​en

from Bring out the Banners by Paul 'Bolshie' Brown

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about

Jim Reid’s tune captures the mood perfectly of Violet Jacob’s moving poem. Violet wrote Hallowe’en on hearing of the death of her only son Harry at the Battle of the Somme in 1916: one of the most futile battles of WWI!
It is a tale of remembrance on Hallows Eve by a ploughman whose comrade, the heid horseman, has been killed in the War and a new heid horseman has replaced his close kist with his next to the fire. It vividly evokes the folk significance of Halloween, where the dead and the living are closest.
For more on the life and poetry of Violet Jacob go to: www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poet/violet-jacob-0/
I love its rich Angus language.

lyrics

The tattie-liftin's nearly through,
They're ploughin' whaur the barley grew,
And aifter dark, roond ilka stack,
Ye'll see the horsemen stand an' crack
O Lachlan, but I mind o' you!

I mind foo often we hae seen
Ten thoosand stars keek doon atween
The nakit branches, an' below
Baith fairm an' bothie hae their show,
Alowe wi' lichts o' Hallowe'en.

There's bairns wi' guizards at their tail
Cloorin' the doors wi' runts o' kail,
And fine ye'll hear the screichs an' skirls
O' lassies wi' their droukit curls
Bobbin' for aipples i' the pail.

The bothie fire is loupin' het,
A new heid horseman's kist is set
Richt's o' the lum; whaur by the blaze
The auld ane stude that kept yer claes—
I canna thole to see it yet!

But gin the auld fowks' tales are richt
An ghaists come hame on Hallow nicht,
O freend o' friends! what wad I gie
To feel ye rax yer hand to me
Atween the dark an' caun'le licht?
Awa' in France, across the wave,
The wee lichts burn on ilka grave,
An' you an' me their lowe hae seen—
Ye'll mebbe hae yer Hallowe'en
Yont, whaur ye're lyin' wi' the lave.

There's drink an' daffin', sang an' dance
And ploys and kisses get their chance,
But Lachlan, man, the place I see
Is whaur the auld kist used tae be
And the lichts o' Hallowe'en in France!

credits

from Bring out the Banners, released March 11, 2019
Copyright – SpringThyme Music | Arranged – Paul Brown | Words – Violet Jacob | Tune – Jim Reid | Vocals – Paul Brown

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Paul 'Bolshie' Brown Auckland, New Zealand

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