Duncan Williamson's father told him stories when he was youn...

Original Track ID

SA1978.137; SA1978.138

Original Tape ID

SA1978.137

Summary

Duncan Williamson's father told him stories when he was young that he later found out were really ballads.

When Duncan Williamson was young they had no television or radio and his parents would tell the children stories to entertain them. He also heard stories from Travellers round the campfires, but was often sent to bed before the end of a story. He determined to find out the ends of the stories when he was older. He bought a tape recorder and went around recording songs and stories. He found out that many of the stories he heard were really ballads. When his father was telling a story he would sometimes sing a part of it, for instance a press gang ballad when he was telling a story about the press gangs. Duncan sings a couple of verses of a press gang ballad about the time when Queen Elizabeth's navy was fighting the Spanish.

Recording Location

Language

Scots

Genre

Song Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good