Here's a Scottish song from the beginning of the 20th century, a song about the hard life of women working in the Dundee jute mills. The song was written by Mary Brookbank who was a Dundee jute mill worker. Ten & Nine refers to the weekly wages paid to women in the mills at the turn of the century, 10 shillings & 9 pence. Here's the lyrics: O, dear me, the mill is running fast And we poor shifters canna get nae rest Shifting bobbins coarse and fine They fairly make you work for your ten and nine O, dear me, I wish this day were done Running up and doon the Pass is nae fun Shiftin', piecin', spinning warp, weft and twine To feed and clothe ma bairnie offa ten and nine O, dear me, the world is ill-divided Them that works the hardest are the least provided But I maun bide contented, dark days or fine There's no much pleasure living offa ten and nine
Nice one David. You always come up with great combinations of instruments. I played a hot Glockenspiel when I was young. But, haven't played one since 1963. If I had kept it up I could have been a master by now. Gary
Yep David, that's a winner! Your voice is exactly right for this. And I have heard the Glockenspiel in Scottish music before (Tannahill Weavers, I think). Dundee seems to have been a fabric processing capital indeed - not only for jute, but also for flax. The men who combed these fibers were called hecklers, and the hecklers of Dundee were renowned for their agressive and quarrelsome nature, hence the usage of the word for people like Waldorf and Statler.
David, you make such nice recordings. I often log in to your youtube channel and listen to your uploads. They are so relaxing and the quality is excellent. I wonder how you manage to get the balance in your recordings so good. But as always it must be a good ear for music and a lot of experience and hard work. Please go on!
A good job again, David. When I was in school (my pupil years, not my teaching years) I remember learning that Dundee was famous for the three Js - jute, jam and journalism. Now the journalism is what remains to the fore, thanks to the firm of DC Thomson, publisher of many Scottish editions including The Sunday Post and the famous children's comics The Beano and The Dandy.
I love this song, David. Your arrangements are always shockingly good--and I say that even after being treated to over a hundred of them I bet. Also, thanks for the historical context everyone. How interesting.
