 |
 |
Sleeve Notes
From the world of busy factories, crowded streets, tenement and public houses, come these five songs of Glasgow, sung by young twenty-two-year-old Robin Hall.
An itinerant folk singer, or as he prefers to be called, "a singer of folk songs", he has learned much of his large repertoire from their original sources; the factories and docklands of his home town Glasgow, and the farms and villages around the countryside of Scotland.
In his travels and search for songs, Robin has worked at many jobs ranging from farms to factories, and remained in each only until such time as he had absorbed the local folklore.
Robin started his musical career, as so many young people do today, by playing jazz, which gave him an interest in American Negro folk music. However, he has folklorist Hamish Henderson, from the Edinburgh University School of Scottish Studies, to thank" for his present interest in Scottish folk music. Hamish showed him the wealth of song that was his own heritage, and indeed, taught him many songs from his own vast collection.
Whilst Robin has a great liking for the "Muckle Sangs" or "Big Ballads" of Scotland, his love lies with the songs of "Dirty auld Glasca" which, even to this day, are constantly being made and absorbed into the folk tradition of Scotland. Such are the five songs presented on this record. You can hear "Lodgin' wi' big Aggie" or "Yer ma wee gallas bloke naemair" (gallas meaning smart alec), wafting out many a pub door in Glasgow on a Saturday night. Many's the "wean" that's been sung to sleep by the wee lullaby "Coulther's Candy", and although the beautiful "Bleacher Lassie O' Kelvinhaugh", and the saucy "Dundee Weaver" do have other versions throughout Scotland, Robin sings them here in true Glasgow fashion.
BRUCE DUNNET