FTX 460 - COM' A' YE PLOOMAN LADS

BOTHY BALLADS OF LOWLAND SCOTLAND

The bothies were the farm residences, mostly no more than rough huts, accommodating the plough lads in Aberdeenshire and other Lowland Scots regions of the North East. In many cases they would only stay with a farmer for perhaps a year before attending the next hiring fair where they hoped to be auctioned to a better farm place. So these ballads contain the good and the bad of life in the bothies, complaints or praise for the place and the people. Here they are - sung by some of the greatest Lowland Scots singers.

1. DRUMDELGIE - Jimmy MacBEATH rec by Peter Kennedy & Alan Lomax 1951 - 3.19"

2. THE HASH O BELNAGOAK - Davie STEWART with accordion rec by PK 1956 - 2.38"

3. THE BRAVE PLOOMAN LADDIE - John STRACHAN rec by PK & AL, 1951 - 1.45"

4. NEEPS TAE PLUCK - Jimmy McBEATH - 2.39"

5. JIMMY RAEBURN - Davie STEWART with accordion - 5.41"

6. BONNY UDNY - John STRACHAN - 1.42"

7. AULD JOCKEY BRUCE O' THE FORNET - Davie STEWART with accordion - 3.26"

8. BOGIE'S BONNY BELLE - Jimmy McBEATH - 2.38"

9. THE HAIRSTS O' RETTIE - John Strachan - 3.02

10. McGINTY'S MEAL AN' ALE - Davie STEWART with accordion - 4.52"

11. THE DOWIE DENS O' YARROW - Jimmy McBEATH - 2.42"

12. THE FAIRIN' O' BOGHEAD - John Strachan - 2.45"

13. THE DAINTY DOONBY - Davie STEWART - 2.35"

14. McPHERSON'S RANT - Jimmy McBEATH - 3.15"

15. SWEET MORMOND BRAES - Davie STEWART with accordion - 3.34"

Recorded & edited by Peter Kennedy and first published on Folktrax cassettes 1975.

DAVIE STEWART (1901-1972) was born April 1st, at Windmill Street, Peterhead. His father, Robert, and his grandfather too, werre general hawkers and tinsmiths, so Davie was brought up as a "traveller", spending the better part of each year on the road. Between the ages of 4 and 9 he spent only the winter attending school in places such as Aberdeen and Fraserburgh. He started to get known as a singer from the age of 10 when his family were working in the farm bothies.

Davie was 13 when the 14-18 War began. Twice he tried to join the Gordons but he was called back by his father. The third time, at the age of 16, he was sent to France where he was wounded on 3 occasions. However he joined a pipe band and was tutored by the great Scottish piper, John MacLennan. When he came out of the Army, at the age of 20, he resumed his travelling life, singing and hawking, combining farm-life in the Aberdeenshire bothies with playing the accordion and singing. 2 years later he fell in with another great travelling man, Jimmy McBeath (see FTX-058, FTX-059 & FTX-060).

Other cassettes of Davie Stewart: FTX-180 THE DOWIE DENS O YARROW Davie sings some lowland Scots Songs and Bothy Ballads accompanying himself on accordion and plays some Scots bagpipe tunes - FTX-462 A TINKER'S TALE Davie Stewart tells his life story and songs including: THE CATTLE-DROVER'S SONG, I'M OFTEN DRUNK SELDOM SOBER and THE JOLLY TINKER.