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01
[RL Singing] Fareweel ma
horse my bonnie pair,
Wi you I'll work and lowse nae mair,
Fareweel ma plough we you this han,
Will turn ower nae mair fresh land.
Bit I've served ma master weel and true,
My well deen work he'll niver rue,
And yet ??? I might hae striven,
To reach the pearly gates o heavin.
Tis well ma maker knows my name,
Will he gie me a welcome hame,
As I should help in need afford,
Receive me in thy mercy Lord.
[RL] Knowing the story, that's right, makes
it that wee bittie more hauntin, especially if your standing
down at Bonnyton Hill, cause it's a cold, cold place that
stands right up to the North Sea and the wind had been there
I suppose, speaks aboot the wind.
[TM] Exactly where is that?
[RL] It's on the Banff/Fraserburgh road, just
outside New Aberdour, towards Fraserburgh, about a mile down
the road on the left hand side, you see Bonnyton Hill Farm.
The house has stood empty for the past fifteen-twenty years,
again some English folk came up, bought the house [laughs],
and they are currently doing it up.
02-03
There's a fairmtoon up
in Cairnie ,
That's kent both far and wide,
And it's ca'd the Hash o Drumdelgie ,
On bonnie Deveronside.
Noo it's five o'clock that we get up,
And hurry doon the stairs ,
Tae get our horses corned and fed,
Likewise ti straik their hair.
Noo it's half an hour in the stable,
Each tae the kitchie goes,
Tae get started tae our breakfast,
Which generally is brose.
Noo we've scarcely got oor brose well supped,
Then gien wir pints a tie,
When the grieve e says, hello ma lads,
Ye'll be nae langer nigh.
Noo it's six o'clock the mull's put on,
Tae gie us a' stracht work,
En there's twa o us tae work tae her,
Till ye could ring wir sark.
And at eight o'clock the mull's put aff,
And we hurry doon the stair,
Tae get some quarters through the fan,
Till daylight dis appear.
Noo the clouds begin ti gently lift,
The sky begins tae clear,
En the grieve e says hello ma lads,
Ye'll be nae langer here.
For it's six o ye'll gang tae the plough,
And six tae ca the neeps,
And the owsen they'll be efter ye,
Wee straw wrapped round their queets.
Noo pitten on o the harness,
An drawing oot tae yoke
Well the drift dang on so very thick,
That we wis like tae choke.
Aye, the drift dang on so very thick,
The plough she widnae go,
It wis then the cartin did commence,
Among the frost and snow.
Noo Drumdelgie keeps a Sunday school,
He thinks it is bit richt,
For to teach the young and the innocent,
They way for tae dae richt.
So fare ye well, Drumdelgie,
And I'll bid ye adieu,
And I'll leave as I got ye,
That a mast unceevil crew.
[TM] The word of a lee.
[RL] The word o a lee, definitely [laughs].
[03]
[TM] So where did you get your version of it that you sing?
[RL] I know him quite well, the guy's name is
Frank McNally. I know Frank from going round, it was the version
that Frank sang, he sent it down to me a lot o years ago,
he has a good voice Frank, I think he took the prizes at Keith
this past year. He hidna competed for a lot a years and he
said he got the first prize for the Bothy up at Keith Festival.
Frank's been a good encouragement over the years as well,
used to go out a lot and entertain with Myra Thow who got
me singing originally.
[TM] Yes, I've heard about her, but I didn't
realise she was still on the go.
[RL] Aye, she's still on the go, in fact it's
probably worth, if you like, someday that she's either coming
here or it would maybe be best to go into her own house in
Aberdeen. I don't know if she would maybe sing for you now,
because she was a good singer in her day and her voice has
gone quite a bit now, and I think she maybe gets embarrassed,
but she's got some great tales to tell.
[TM] Yes, just talking about her life on the
road.
[RL] Myra would be into her 80s now, but when
I say she's a character, I mean she's a total character. She's
hid a concert in the heyday. She knows Hamish, met Hamish
when he came up in the 50s. She took around a concert party
with her and it's been a great encouragement for the bothy
ballads in the North.
04
[TM] Where and where were
you born?
[Audrey Steele:] I was born in Turriff on twenty-second
May 1976 and I've stayed at Penelopefield, that's a farm outside
Turriff, all my life, I'm eighteen now. I've never really
moved away, but I'm going to university next week and I'm
going to be staying in Aberdeen all week and coming home at
weekends. So that will be a bit of a change.
[TM] And when did you first start playing?
[AS] About six years ago, I played the piano
before I started playing the accordion, that was just classical
music really, doing the different exams, grades and always
fancied playing the accordion. It was my friend from Orkney,
he came down and he always played the accordion, I really
fancied it but my mum put me to piano lessons for a start
to get into the way of it and then when we a found teacher
I managed to start the accordion and I've played ever since.
I enjoy it, but I still keep up my piano and I'm doing all
my Grade 7 this year.
[TM] Do play out and about much?
[AS] We play quite a lot, my brother and I play
at concerts by ourselves and along with other musicians, play
at old folks homes, fetes, anything really just depending
on what people want, but it's been quite hard because we've
had quite a lot of school work as well but just go out when
we've got spare time. Try to go to things people ask us to
do.
05-06
[TM] When did you start?
[GS] Like Audrey I started playing the piano
first, that was 1988, six years ago and then a year later
I started learning the accordion. Like Audrey, I'm doing my
grades on the piano and I'm sitting Grade 6 this year, that's
just classical pieces, but I think I enjoy the Scottish traditional
music better.
[TM] Why is that?
[GS] No particular reason.
[AS] There seems to be more opportunities in
this area to go out playing Scottish music than there is classical.
There's too many people just play classical, so if you can
play Scottish as well there's more openings. It's coming back
in, there's more people interested in Scottish music, it used
to be Scottish music was going out and discos were coming
in again for the young, but it seems to be changing and there's
more dances for young people our age, barn dances etc., there're
doing much better than they did before.
[TM] So do you play for dances as well?
[AS] Occasionally, it's mainly concerts, but
we do sometimes it depends on what people want. We also compete
in the Scottish Championships in Perth and different competitions
in the area, we've won quite a few trophies as well.
[TM] When did you first start competing?
[AS] About a year after we started playing I
think. Start just as a junior and work up.
[TM] I suppose it's a good incentive to learn
new tunes.
[GS] It's good experience as well playing in
front of people.
[AS] It helps to give you confidence I think
because you have to play this set of tunes in front of people
and your competing against other competitors, it's not just
a case of o you can play.
[GS] You see the standards of other players
as well.
[AS] I enjoy doing that as well it makes you
practice a lot.
[TM] You've been to Perth, where else have you
been?
[AS] Glasgow, Banchory, Keith, Stichen. Perth and Glasgow
are the main ones.
[GS] I think two years ago you came third.
[AS] No it was second at Glasgow.
[GS] I came fourth at Perth.
[TM] So you compete as individuals? Are there
pairs competitions as well?
[GS] Some of them, but we don't really go in
for that
[AS] The ones we've been competing in there's
usually about thirty-forty folk, so it's really hard. You
have to practice a lot to go there.
[TM] I've just started competing at the singing
competitions. So I know what it's like, all those folk who
are very good.
[AS] I also do Highland dancing so it helps
when we're out playing you know because I do a bit of highland
dancing. I'm up to my teacher's standard, but I haven't had
time to do my teacher's [examination] so I'll have to stop
this year because I'm going to Aberdeen to university.
[GS] You've been dancing for fourteen years.
[TM] Did you compete as well.
[AS] Yes, but I don't have time now. I think
it helped because I've been at competitions when I was dancing
and I thought o well accordion competition we'll try that
as well. We've been abroad quite a few times playing.
[TM] Where to?
[GS] Last year we were in Denmark and Norway.
1990 Audrey was in Norway and we were in Denmark last year
and I was in Norway last year playing the accordion.
[AS] We played on the boat on the way back from
Denmark for a dance/concert. I've also been in Sweden and
did dancing there as well. A lot of it's been through Scouts
and Guides.
07
[TM] Have you learnt any
accordion or dance tunes from over there?
[AS] Yes, when I was in Austria I learnt some
Austrian tunes, that was good.
[GS] When we were in Denmark we got some music.
[AS] It has been quite good. The Scouts definitely
took us out because we were selected from Scotland to go to
these places, you went through different interviews and then
when your out there it's like a big jamboree and they want
you to perform some kind of traditional things, so I did my
highland dancing and we took our accordions and people sang
along Scottish tunes with us; it was good.
[GS] Last year I began learning the drums at
school, so it's a bit of a sideline, I play them occasionally.
[TM] More difficult to take on the road.
[GS] Slightly more difficult [laughs]. But I
accompany Audrey on the drums sometimes.
[AS] Gives more variety instead of just the
accordion.
[TM] Who are your teachers on the accordion.
[AS] Peter Farnan at Dyce. He's really good,
he teaches most of the people, like Lynn Gould, you've maybe
heard of, or Lynn Christie, people like that. They've all
got there own bands nearly.
[TM] So does he tour round, I mean does he come
round the district?
[AS] No you've to go to him, go in every week.
[GS] We get taught piano by him as well, so
we go in one week for piano and the other week for accordion.
[AS] He's really the nearest teacher there is.
[GS] We also teach music.
[AS] We teach people the accordion.
[GS] We've both got a couple of pupils, beginners.
[TM] That's very good experience.
[GS] It's quite hard to get the message over
you know.
[AS] It's hard, one of my pupil's she's only
eight, it's hard cause you can't get on with the theory of
the music, because her maths is not so far on, because she
is still in primary and it's gets complicated trying to explain
it in a simple way. I enjoy doing it, you just have to think
it out and simplify it. You just read the music and think
o yeah, but then when you have to teach it you've to really
think about it. It helped doing the theory exam, having piano
we had to do Grade 5 theory before you can go on to do Grade
6 playing and I think that helped for the accordion, because
the accordion you can just carry on, but doing that theory
helped for the teaching part.
[GS] Just another experience I think.
[AS] It's a lot of hard work, but it's worth
it.
[TM] Sounds like there aren't enough hours in
the day.
08
[TM] Will you continue, Audrey,
when you come to Aberdeen, going to Peter Farnan?
[AS] Yeah, I though since there won't be a piano
there I'm going to take a keyboard and practice my piano on
the keyboard when I go to Aberdeen then come and practice
at weekend. I'll take my accordion in as well. I'll probably
come home most weekends and then Gordon and I go into music
on a Sunday and get our lesson again. It should be okay as
long as nobody complains about the noise. I thought I could
practice my accordion on the morning when everyone is getting
up and my keyboard, cause I put in earphones, at night so
it won't disturb anyone else.
[TM] That will be a big change for you--separated?
[AS] It will be a bit harder probably because
I won't be able to come and play out at concerts, only weekends
really, that will be one disadvantage, won't get so much practice
together. Hopefully we'll keep going at weekends.
[TM] Gordon, when were you born?
[GS] 1977 in Banff, so I'm sixteen years old.
I'm in sixth year at school and hoping to go to university
this coming year, probably Aberdeen so I can carry on my music.
[TM] Do they think music will be the focus of
what you want to do?
[GS] No, I was thinking of studying accountancy,
but I think music will just be a sideline, extra money. I
think there will be a lot of opportunities for traditional
music on the future, but I think it's best to get an education
before you start on your music. Our music teacher used to
be an auditor, now he teaches full-time.
[AS] You can always go back to whatever you
want to do if you start on music, if you've got a degree.
Nowadays it doesn't seem to matter as long as you've got a
degree.
09-10
[Ian Powrie's Farewell to Auchterarder/ Jacqueline Waltz on
accordion]
[Tom McKean] Do you usually play any other instruments?
[Gordon Steele] We try our best.
[Audrey Steele] It's quite hard, when two people
play together, one will do first, like this, then there be
someone just like bumping along, just on the key.
[TM] No-one likes being second fiddle, and your
both playing the chord patterns as well?
[GS] Yes, exactly the same.
[AS] Sometimes I'll do second box if he's wantin
to play somethin on his one, and I'll just back it, but none
of us really like to sit back and do second.
[GS] I think it's easy enough to play slow tunes
together in unison, but when you get on to the jigs, marches,
reels, it's quite hard.
[AS] Would you like to hear a continental tune?
[GS] These are tunes Graham composed, he's got
two books a tunes, this is the type of tunes we plays in competitions.
[AS] There just a book of jigs and we just put together what
we want. Sometimes I'll do a Scott Skinner tune an maybe two
o his and then one of Peter Farnan's tunes. Just depends,
just choose what you want.
11
[GS] The march is 'Patrice
Norrie,' the Strathspey is 'View from Brimond[?]' and the
reel is 'Nessie Gowan's' all by Peter Farnan.
[Accordion playing above tunes]
12
[AS] Two jigs again by Peter
Farnan. The first one's 'Cameron's Gold' and the second one
is 'Wee Brian's Jig.'
[Accordion playing above tunes]
13
[GS] I think there's a lot
of accidentals. Couldn't get it together really, it's style
is rhapsody music
[Accordion playing Austrian tunes]
15
[GS] Going to play a sing-a-long
selection. We find it's quite popular when we go out entertaining
this one. It's a few tunes most people know in this corner.
It's 'Here's to the Gordons,' 'The Lights o Lochindall,' 'The
Uist Tramping Song,' 'Bonnie Kirkwall Bay,' and 'A Wee Deoch
an Doris.'
[Accordion plays above tunes]
16
[Accordion duets]
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