A Pair o Nicky Tams
fiosrachadh a' chlàraidh
Àireamh a' Chlàir Thùsail
SA1960.142.B3
Àireamh an Teip Thùsail
Notaichean a' Chlàir
7 verses of 4 lines. A song by the famous bothy balladeer G. S. Morris (1876-1958).
'Nickie-tams' were leather thongs (or sometimes pieces of cord) tied below the farm worker's knee in order to keep the trouser legs from trailing in the mud (and allegedly to prevent rats and mice from crawling up the legs). The name derives from 'nickie' as an allusion to 'knickerbockers' (which were fashionable at the time) and 'taum' meaning 'a cord'.
See:
'Scotland Sings' (E. MacColl, 1953) p. 96
'101 Scottish Songs' (N. Buchan, 1962) pp. 48-49
'Kerr's Buchan Bothy Ballads' vol. 2 (G.S.Morris, J.S. Kerr, 1957) pp. 2-3
'Travellers' Songs from England and Scotland' (E. MacColl & P. Seeger, 1977) pp. 316-318
'The Scottish National Dictionary' (available online [[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/]], accessed 7 August 2009)
Cànan
Albais
Seòrsa
Cruinneachadh
Seòrsachadh
Cruth Inneal a' Chlàir
Reel to reel
Càileachd an Fhuaime
Meadhanach Math