Freedom come all ye (was Re: Alternative National Anthem)
Craig Cockburn
aw...@sunicnc.France.Sun.COM "Alison Wyld - SunConnect ICNC" writes:
> So, can someone post the words ? I have snatches of it in my head, but
> nothing coherent.
>
This is The Freedom Come All Ye, which seems to have quite broad support
on the net for being a non anti-English replacement for "Flower of Scotland",
Scotland's current (unofficial) national anthem.
This version is from the excellent book "The Trefoil Song book" ( a smaller,
Scottish biased version of "Rise Up Singing"). The book is available from:
The Trefoil Centre, Gogarbank, Edinburgh, EH12 9DA, Scotland
tel 031 339 3148
Sales from the book go to support the Trefoil centre, which provides holidays
for the disabled. I can't remember the price, but it's about 5 pounds I think.
I'll leave it to some of the Scots speakers to translate the song!
This note is crossposted to the Digital Tradition - please mail
digi...@world.std.com with any corrections or other songs! Note that
I have made some minor changes to what appear to be errors. I also can't
understand the inconsistent use of "an'" and "and", maybe someone could
explain this.
The Freedom Come All Ye - Hamish Henderson (key of C)
Roch the wind in the clear day dawnin',
Blaws the cloods heelster gowdy ow'r the bay;
But there's mair nor a roch wind blawin'
Through the great glen o' the world the day.
It's a thocht that will gar oor rottans,
A' they rogues that gang gallus fresh and gay,
Tak' the road an' seek ither loanings,
For their ill ploys tae sport and play.
Nae mair will the bonnie callants
March tae war when oor braggarts crously craw,
Nor wee weans frae pit head and clachan
Mourn the ships sailin' doon the Broomielaw;
Broken families in lands we've herriet
Will curse Scotland the brave nae mair, nae mair,
Black an' white, ane till ither marriet,
Make the vile barracks o' their maisters bare.
Oh come all ye at hame wi' freedom,
Never heed whit the hoodies croak for doom;
In your hoose a' the bairns o' Adam
Can find breid, barley bree an' painted room;
When MacLean meets wi' freens in Springburn
A' the roses an' geans will turn tae bloom,
And a black boy frae yong Nyanga
Dings the fell gallows o' the burghers doon.
--
Craig Cockburn (pronounced "coburn"), Edinburgh, Scotland
Sgri\obh thugam 'sa Ga\idhlig ma 'se do thoil e.
Abby Sale
CC> This is The Freedom Come All Ye, which seems to have quite broad
CC> support on the net for being a non anti-English replacement for "Flower
It may not be as specific, but I think Hamish's paean is as anti-English
and anti-Establishment as you can get.
CC> can't understand the inconsistent use of "an'" and "and", maybe
CC> someone could explain this.
CC> And a black boy frae yong Nyanga [yont]
"And" sounds better here. Hamish is a poet. Also, Scots seem to
often apply such ending as if French, that is with a "liaison"
applying the hard consonant sound when the first letter of the
next word is a vowel...dropping it when the 1st letter of the next
word is also a consonant.
But Hamish is not bound by any one local dialect. He tends
towards Ballad-Scots but may, as in this song, use local words or
phrases from anywhere in Scotland.
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J J Farrell
> On 07-03-94 11:41, Craig Cockburn said:
>
>
> CC> This is The Freedom Come All Ye, which seems to have quite broad
> CC> support on the net for being a non anti-English replacement for "Flower
>
>It may not be as specific, but I think Hamish's paean is as anti-English
>and anti-Establishment as you can get.
I'm intrigued - could you explain your reasoning please. It's very strongly
anti-imperialist and anti-establishment, but I don't see a hint of
anti-Englishness in it. Perhaps my Scots isn't good enough to spot it!
My opinions; I do not speak for my employer.