As an addition to my post on the clearances of Guisachan, I think I should give you an idea of what these farmers thought about their lands being turned over to shooting estates.
Robert Burns, who worked as a tenant farmer in South Ayrshire, penned these words that probably perfectly captured the sentiments of these poor evicted crofters:
Now westlin winds and slaughtering guns
Bring autumn’s pleasant weather
The moorcock springs on whirring wings
Among the blooming heather
Now waving grain, wild o’er the plain
Delights the weary farmer
And the moon shines bright as I rove at night
To muse upon my charmer.
The partridge loves the fruitful fells
The plover loves the mountains
The woodcock haunts the lonely dells
The soaring hern the fountains
Through lofty groves the cushat roves
The path of man to shun it
The hazel bush o’erhangs the thrush
The spreading thorn the linnet
Thus every kind their pleasure find
The savage and the tender
Some social join and leagues combine
Some solitary wander
Avaunt away! the cruel sway
Tyrannic man’s dominion
The sportsman’s joy, the murdering cry
The fluttering gory pinion
But Peggy dear, the evening’s clear
Thick files the skimming swallow
The sky is blue, the field’s in view
All fading green and yellow
Com let us stray our gladsome way
And view the charms of nature
The rustling corn, the fruited thorn
And every happy creature
We’ll gently walk and sweetly talk
Till the silent moon shines clearly
I’ll grasp thy waiste and, fondly pressed
Swear how I love thee dearly
Not vernal showers to budding flowers
Not autumn to the farmer
So dear can be as thou to me
My fair, and lovely charmer.
Here’s Dick Gaughan performing these lyrics of the Bard of Ayrshire:
I first heard this song done by Garnet Rogers (Canadian singer/songwriter, one of my favorites) in the mid ’80’s. A wonderful rendition. But here is a more recent version by Bobby Watt that is truly exceptional –
[audio src="http://www.bobbywatt.com/MUSIC/westlin.mp3" /]
BTW – Here’s a translation of a few terms from another site ( http://castlebaycds.com/notes3.html )
westlin’ winds – winds from the west
amang – among
Pairtrick – partridge
lanely – lonely, Hern – heron
Cushat – wood dove
ilka – every
While – until
prest – encouraged
lo’e – love
I know those, but what is a “hern.”
Is it this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herne_the_Hunter
Or is it this (an erne, a close relative of the bald eagle)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_Eagle
I read a short story called “The Erne from the Coast” when I was in elementary school. I had to look up what it was.
It’s in my second comment above. Hern – heron
Okay, that makes sense,
Ernes might hang out around fountains, because they are almost exactly like our bald eagles (which are called gripes in Newfoundland and early colonial texts).
“Hern cran” means gray heron in the Ulster dialect of Scots. Cran means crane.
In West Virginia, where the largest ethnic group is from Ulster, the term of the blue heron is “crane.” I am sure that’s why they are called cranes, even though they obviously aren’t cranes.
The other species of heron we have is the green heron. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green_Heron/lifehistory
For some reason, it is called a “shagpoke.” And don’t ask me about the etymology.
It’s in my second comment – hern = heron
I did a little research on this.
Historically, the Scots word for this bird could be cran (crane) or hern.
Where I grew up, all great blue herons are called cranes.
It used to drive me crazy.
We did occasionally have sandhills.
Because there is a bit of a Scottish and Scots-Irish influence to the dialect and ancestry of the people in this part of West Virginia.
Comb.: hern cran(e), id. (Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl., Uls. 1957). Cf. Cran, n.1
“Shagpoke?” for Green Heron? I’ve always heard “Shikepoke”, which, when translated(also an old Scottish term, obviously begun by early settlers) has the unsavory meaning–“Shitbag”!!!! But why, I have no idea–perhaps because Green Herons eat all kinds of slimy, creepy crawlies in swampy places?
When I googled “shagpoke,” I got photos of a blue heron: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/15/69893569_d11a00f070_o.jpg
But where I live a blue heron is a “crane.” (Even though it obviously isn’t!)