Yowie wi the Crookit Horn
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1959.106.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
Fragment of 'The Yowie wi the Crookit Horn', in which a man owns a much-appreciated illicit still (the ewe with the crooked horn) until it is stolen by a 'nickum' [rascal].
Jeannie Robertson cannot recall the remainder of the song.
Item Notes
2 verses of 8 lines. In the missing verse, the singer vows: "Gin I had the lad that did it /I wid kill him as sure as I said it / ... / I wid gie his neck a thraa."
Despite the popular re-write by the Rev. John Skinner (1721-1807), pastor of Longside in Aberdeenshire, which appeared in Johnson's 'Scots Musical Museum' vol. 3 (1853 edition, no. 293), and which implies that the 'ewie' in the song is an actual sheep, older traditional versions of this song, such as those preserved by the Traveller community, tell us clearly that the "ewie wi the crookit horn" is an illicit still.
See:
'Tocher 23' (1976) pp. 264-265
'Folksongs of Britain & Ireland' (P. Kennedy, 1975) p. 603
'Vagabond Songs & Ballads' vol. 1 (R. Ford, 1899) pp. 87-90
'Jeannie Robertson: Emergent Singer, Transformative Voice' (J. Porter & H. Gower, 1995) pp. 143-144
Recording Location
County - Kincardineshire
Parish - Fetteresso
Village/Place - Stonehaven
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Classification
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair