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Song of the Gillie More

Date c. 1956
Track ID 16917
Part 1
Part 2

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1956.39.3

Original Tape ID

SA1956.039

Summary

A song conveying a message of fraternity between Leith blacksmiths and their Soviet counterparts, and more generally in spirit, between working men and women of all trades.

Item Notes

Recorded during 1956.04 / 1957.06. 4 verses. Interemzzo (intelude) between stanzas three and four.

During the 'Scottish-Soviet Friendship Week' in 1951, Jimmy Jarvie, secretary of the Leith branch of the 'Associated Blacksmiths' Forge and Smithy Workers' Society' sent greetings from 'The Blacksmiths of Leith to the Blacksmiths of Kiev'. Hamish Henderson went to meet Jarvie and was inspired to write 'The Song of the Gillie More'. The aforementioned society published his song in 1953 as a song-sheet, and later as a hardback song-sheet in 1962 to commemorate the visit by the Kiev Trades Council to their Edinburgh counterpart in 1962.

Recording Location

County - Moray

Parish - Bellie

Village/Place - Spey Bay

Language

Scots

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good