The Mains o Rhynie
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1954.33.B7
Original Tape ID
Summary
The singer of this ballad meets 'Lang Jock Scott' who asks if he is willing to join the S. R. A. [Scottish Republican Army].
Item Notes
6 verses and choruses of 4 lines. Sung to the tune of 'The Barnyards o Delgaty'.
At the instigation of a student named Bobby Watt, this song was compiled and reworked by Hamish Henderson from verses that Watt and friends had begun modelling on 'The Barnyards o Delgaty' as sung by Jimmy MacBeath. Henderson's 'Mains o Rhynie' was a substitute for 'Fettes Row', the location of the party where Watt (the 'Lang Jock Scott' of the song) approached Henderson to write the song. The S. R. A. mentioned in the song is the 'Scottish Republican Army', an underground organisation increasingly active in the post-WWII years; the S. R. A. was a powerful concept for committed nationalists at the time. Bobby Watt was later put on trial along with four other men, accused of conspiracy to overthrow the government of Scotland. All four were convicted of lesser charges pertaining to possession of explosives, and were sent to Saughton Prison.
See:
'Hamish Henderson: A Biography. Volume 1 - The Making of the Poet' (T. Neat, 2007) pp. 316-317
Recording Location
County - Midlothian
Parish - Edinburgh
Village/Place - Edinburgh
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair