The Peat Fire Flame 1990

An array of Scottish songs arranged and performed in Castlebay's vibrant style, recorded as performed in concert.

Fred Gosbee - vocals, 5-string viola made by Alan Carruth, Fender 12-string guitar, whistles of his own construction adapted from a design by Gordon Bok, Yamaha bass recorder, foot chimes.

Julia Lane - vocals, nylon string clarsach built by Fred Gosbee, Roland RD300S digital piano/harpsichord.

Mark McNiel - vocals, violin, cello, flute, whistles, Seagull 6-string guitar, Roland RD300S digital piano with Roland MT12 sound module, Korg PSS680 synthesizer, Yamaha electric bass

Many thanks to Wayne Bean, the Chocolate Church, Bristol School, John and Fran Morriss, our audiences for their enthusiasm and support that make recording worthwhile, and especially to Joyce for her priceless instruction and encouragement.

Recorded and mixed at Barra Audio Productions, Brunswick, ME, on a Teac A3440 4-track, except for the Highland Suite which was recorded live on a TASCAM TSR-8 *-track.

Digitally mastered (for cassette) at Treefrog Productions, Hollis Center, ME. Remastered for CD in 2020 at Harper's Wood, Round Pond, ME.

Engineer Mark McNeil

Photography Carla Dolloff, Newcastle, ME

Originally released on Outer Green Records #OGR-8894-C

Band O' Shearers 1:03
Traditional

A bothy ballad sung by the lowland Scots farm workers. The shearing refers not to sheep but to the harvest of grain using a hook or sickle.

Bonnie lassie will ye gang
And shear wi' me the hale day lang
And love will cheer us as we gang
And join yon band o' shearers

Summer days and heather bells
Come bloomin' o'er yon high high hills
There's yellow corn in all the fields
And summer brings the shearin'

And if the weather be ower hot
I'll cast my gravat and my coat
And shear wi' ye among the lot
When we join yon band o'shearers

And if the weather be ower dry
They'll say there's love 'twixt you and I
But we will proudly pass them by
And we'll gang nae mair tae the shearin'

And when the shearing is all done,
And slowly sets the evening sun
We'll hae some rantin' rovin' fun
And we'll gang nae mair tae the shearin'

So bonny lassie bright and fair
Will ye be mine forever mair?
If ye'll be mine then I'll be thine
And we'll gang nae mair tae the shearin'

Greenland/Willa Fjord 2:35
Traditional

The music of the Scottish islands shows definite Norse influences. We doubled the sound of the viola to evoke the Scandinavian hardanger fiddle. These two tunes came to us through Kaity and Carter Newall of Damariscotta, Maine.

Fred - 5-string viola
Julia - clarsach
Mark - cello

Fordell Ball 5:01
words by Jim Dunn

The tune of this song is better known as The Shearin's No For You. Jim Dunn, accordianist for the Scottish group Heritage and ex-miner at the Fordell pit wrote these poignant lyrics of a young miner imagining a romantic evening with his sweetheart at Fordell Castle. We heartily thank Jack Beck, also of Heritage for bringing this song to our attention.

Fred - lead vocal, 12-string guitar
Julia - harpsichord
Mark - violin

Will ye gang tae Fordell Ball
My bonnie lassie-o
Will ye gang tae Fordell Ball
My bonnie lassie-o
Gin ye'll gang tae Fordell Ball
I will dress ye like a doll
Ye'll be the flooer amang them a'
My bonnie lassie-o

There' ll be lords and ladies there
My bonnie lassie-o
Wi' powdered wigs and scented hair
My bonnie lassie-o
There' ll be lords and ladies there
And at you they'll stop and stare
Ye' ll be the fairest o' the fair
My bonnie lassie-o

When the dancin' is a' done
My bonnie lassie-o
We will greet the rising sun
My bonnie lassie-o
Wi' the curlew and the hare
We will tak the mornin' air
While the lark she sings sae clear
My bonnie lassie-o

We will bless yon leafy bow'r
My bonnie lassie-o
Where we spent the midnicht hour
My bonnie lassie-o
We will bless yon leafy bow'r
Where we spent the midnacht hour
Neath the hawthorn's scented flower
My bonnie lassie-o

Will ye gang tae Fordell Ball etc.

Glossary
gang = go
flooer = flower
amang = among
tak = take
midnacht = midnight

The Boatie Rows 3:00
Traditional

A song of a carefree fisher lass written by John Ewen (1741-1821) in Scots.

Fred - bass recorder
Julia - llead vocal, clarsach
Mark - electric bass

O weel may the boatie row and better may she speed;
O weel may the boatie row that wins the bairnies' bread!

The boatie rows, the boatie rows,
The boatie rows fu' weel;
And muckle luck attend the boat,
The murlain and the creel!

The boatie rows, the boatie rows,
The boatie rows indeed
And happy be the lot of a'
That wish the boatie speed!

The boatie rows, the boatie rows,
The boatie rows fu' weel
And muckle lighter is the load
When love bears up the creel.

But weel may the boatie row,
And lucky be her part;
And lightsome be the lassie's care,
That yields an honest heart

The boatie rows, the boatie rows,
The boatie rows fu' weel;
And muckle luck attend the boat,
The murlain and the creel!

Glossary
barnie = child
muckle = much
murlain = fish net
kurtch = kerchief
full braw = very well
trow = confess
douf and war = downhearted

My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose 2:45
Robert Burns (1759-1796)

Burns was instrumental in preserving the ancient tunes by writing eloquent, memorable lyrics to them. Although the tune used here is not the one he intended, it is the best known.

Fred - vocal, low D whistle
Julia - vocal - clarsach Mark - cello

My love is like a red, red rose that's newly sprung in June.
O, my love is like a melody that's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair thou art, my bonnie lass, so deep in love am I,
And I will love thee still, my dear, till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, till a' the seas gang dry.
And I will love thee still, my dear, till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, and rocks melt wi' the sun!
And I will love thee still, my dear, till the sands of life shall run.
So fare thee weel, my only love! Fare thee well awhile!
And I will come again, my dear tho 't were ten thousand mile!
Tho 't were ten thousand mile, my dear tho 't were ten thousand mile!
And I will come again, my dear tho 't were ten thousand mile!

The Peat Fire Flame / Fear an dun mhor 4:40
Traditional

Kenneth MacLeod, author of The Peat Fire Flame, was a colleague of Marjory Kennedy Fraser, the famous collector and publisher of Hebridean songs early in the twentieth century. A copy of their books was loaned to us by Tregonnan Lorrence of Wiscasset, Maine, for which we are very grateful. The second song is a puirt-a-beul (mouth music) learned at a Gaelic singing workshop given by Christine Primrose, native of the Isle of Lewis.

Fred - lead vocal(Peat Fire Flame), 12-string guitar
Julia - lead voca(Fear an dun Mhor)l, clarsach
Mark - flute

Far away and o'er the moor,
Morar waits for a boat that saileth,
Far away down Lowland way,
I dream the dream I learned, lad,

By the light o' the peat-fire flame,
Light for love, for lilt o' grail-deeds,
By the light o' the peat-fire flame,
The light the hill-folk yearn for.

By the light o' the peat-fire flame,
Light for love, for lilt o' grail-deeds,
By the light o' the peat-fire flame,
The light the hill-folk yearn for.

By the light o' the peat-fire flame,
Light for love, for lilt o' grail-deeds,
By the light o' the peat-fire flame,
The light the hill-folk yearn for.

Fear an Duin Mhoir a' mire ri Mor
Fear an Duin Mhoir is Mor a' mire ris
Fear an Duin Mhoir a' mire ri Mor
Ach cu a ni mire ri Moiri?

Translation The laird of Dun Mor sporting with Marion
The laird of Dun Mor and Marion sporting with him
The laird of Dun Mor sporting with Marion
But who will sport with Mary?

Tyree Love Song 3:30
Traditional

Different versions of songs are a result of the folk process -- the personal intrepretation of a song by individual singers sometimes affected by memory or hearing. This song originated in the Hebrides but versions have been collected in New Zealand. This particular variation is a romantic retrospective of a vital, loving relationship.

The tune was made by Andrew Sinclair, and the English lyric is by Hugh Roberton (copyright 1947), who was also responsible for a number of other "traditional" pieces such as The Mingulay Boat Song, Westering Home and so on.

Fred - vocal, 5-string viola
Julia - vacal, piano
Mark - lead vocal, 6-string guitar

Horee, horo, my little wee girl!
Horee, horo, my fair one!
And will you go with me, my love,
To be my own, my rare one.

Horee, horo, my little wee girl!
Horee, horo, my fair one!
And will you go with me, my love,
To be my own, my rare one.

Horee, horo, my little wee girl!
Horee, horo, my fair one!
And will you go with me, my love,
To be my own, my rare one.

Horee, horo, my little wee girl!
Horee, horo, my fair one!
And will you go with me, my love,
To be my own, my rare one.

Coilsfield House 3:50
Traditional

Musicians were once supported by patrons, usually aristocratic land owners. Tunes and songs were therefore named for particular family members or their places of residencs, Neil Gow (1727-1807), composer of this tune, was a well known Scottish fiddler with a distinctive style. His music became fashionable in London and as a result was widely published. we learned this tune fromCalum McKinnon, a wonderful fiddler from Seasttle, WA.

Fred - 5-string viola
Julia - clarsach
Mark - violin

LYRICS

Highland Suite 13:50
The Hundred Pipers by Baroness Nairne (1766-1845)
The Battle of Sherrifmuer by John Barclay (1734-1798) revised by Burns
The Highland Widow's Lament by Robert Burns
Fire In the Glen © Andy M. Stewart
Loch Lommand - traditional

Although the individual songs in this arrangement are not historically congruent, our aim in combining them is to creat a multi dimensional musical portrait of the Jacobite rebellion and subsequent highland clearance. Sources include recordings and published in 1856 and given to us by Terry Rankin.

The Hundred Pipers written to commorate Charles Edward's entrance to Carlisle preceeded by one hundred pipers. The highlanders swam the tide-swollen Esk, losing not a man, and danced themselved dry on the opposite side.We were particularly attracted by the prognostication of disaster in the second verse.

The Battle of Sherrifmuer is a dialog between two shepherds herding sheep on the hills overlooking the battle.

The Highland Widow's Lament was set to "a Gaelic air obtained from a lady in the north of Scotland'> We felt it to be a pointed expression of the effects of the activities of the Dike of Cumberland on the womenfolk and families of the highlands.

Fire in the Glen articulates the feelings of betrayal felt by the members of the highland clans.

Loch Lommand Wherever the Scots emmigrated many believe that after death their souls return to Scotland by the low road, or spirit path.

Fred - vocals, 5-string viola, drum, low F whistle
Julia - vocals, clarsach, piano
Mark - vocals, synthsizer, violin, drums and artillary, 6-string guitar, pennywhistle
Fishing Sinkers - synthesizer drone

Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a',
Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a',
We'll up an' gie them a blaw, a blaw
Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a'.

Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a',
Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a',
We'll up an' gie them a blaw, a blaw
Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a'.

Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a',
Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a',
We'll up an' gie them a blaw, a blaw
Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a'.

'O, cam ye here the fight to shun,
Or herd the sheep wi' me, man?
Or were ye at the Sherra-moor,
Or did the battle see, man?'
'I saw the battle, sair and teugh,
And reekin-red ran monie a sheugh;
My heart for fear gae sough for sough,
To hear the thuds, and see the cluds
O' clans frae woods in tartan duds,
Wha glaum'd at kingdoms three, man.

Hey dum higgerum hey dum hardie
Hey dum higgerum hey da
Hey dum higgerum hey dum hardie
Hey dum higgerum hey da

Hey dum higgerum hey dum hardie
Hey dum higgerum hey da
Hey dum higgerum hey dum hardie
Hey dum higgerum hey da

Hey dum higgerum hey dum hardie
Hey dum higgerum hey da
Hey dum higgerum hey dum hardie
Hey dum higgerum hey da

Hey dum higgerum hey dum hardie
Hey dum higgerum hey da
Hey dum higgerum hey dum hardie
Hey dum higgerum hey da

Oh I am come tae the low countrie
Och on, Och on, a chree
Withoot a penny in my purse
Tae buy a meal tae me

It wasna so in the hieland hills
Och on, Och on, a chree
No woman in the countrie 'roon
Sae happy was as me

At hame I had threescore yowes
Och on, Och on, a chree
Skippin' o'er yon bonny knowes
An'castin'wool tae me

'Til Charlie Stuart came at last
Och on, Och on, a chree
MacDonald's arm was wantin'then
For Scotland, aye, an'for me

Their woefu'fate I needna'tell
Och on, Och on, a chree
MacDonald and his country fell
Upon Culloden field

The old days have gone that had use for a man
Who supported his laird-ship, protectin' his land.
Who in times of unrest, would have died for his lord
Now the soldiers of England have taken his broad sword.

And there's fire in the glen, fire in the glen!
But no fire in the eyes of our Highland men

And there's fire in the glen, fire in the glen!
But no fire in the eyes of our Highland men

And there's fire in the glen, fire in the glen!
But no fire in the eyes of our Highland men