Herrin's Heids
Contributors
Fieldworkers
Date
1973
Track ID
27319
Part 1
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1973.16.A8
Original Tape ID
Summary
The herring is put to all sorts of unlikely uses: the head makes bread, the eyes make pies, fins make pins, the back makes a boy called Jack, the belly makes a girl called Nellie, and the tail makes a ship with a sail.
Item Notes
6 verses with extending chorus. Often taken to be a nonsense song, but actually a clever allegory on the importance of the herring to all aspects of a fisher family's life.
Recording Location
County - Aberdeenshire
Parish - Aberdeen
Village/Place - Aberdeen
Language
Scots
Collection
Classification
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good