The People's Songbag

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30763, 29 May 1965, Page 5

The People's Songbag

Berdes And Bruce

[Specially written for “The Press” h«

Landlady. count the lawin. The day is near the dawin; Ye're a’ blind drunk bogs. And I'm but jolly full. Hey tutti taiti, key tutti taiti Hey tutti taiti. key tulti taiti Who’s fu’ now!

DERRICK ROONEY]

j This centuries-old Scottish | drinking song. “Hey Tutti! Taiti,” is rarely heard nowa-| days, more’s the pity, for it is one of the best. Its age is | not less than half a milieu-1 ium; it was quoted in 1513 by ! Gawin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, in his prologue to the 13th book of his translation of Virgil into Scottish! verse, and was also mentioned by the bishop's contemporary, I the poet Dunbar. I The original title was “Hey,! Now The Day Daws,” and the | original words are preserved! in an ancient manuscript collection in the library of the! College of Edinburgh.

“1 have met the tradition universally over Scotland, and

I particularly about Stirling, in the neighbourhood of the 'scene, that this was Robert the Bruce's march at the battle of Bannockburn, which was fought in 1314,” wrote Robert Burns in his "Historical Essay on Scottish Song.” "Ritson disputes the traditional account, and maintains that the Scots had no martial music among them at this time. He says it was a custom among the Scots at this period for every man in the host to wear a little horn, with the blowing of which, as we are told by Froissart, they would make such a noise ak if all the devils in hell had been amongst them. These horns, indeed, are the only music (musical instruments he should have said) ever mentioned by Barbour.” The claim that the Scots of old had no musical instruments is almost certainly groundless, for there is plenty of evidence to the contrary in the sculptures on ancient abbeys and churches throughout the country. The venerable Bede also enumerated a number of musical instruments in use in Scotland; and Giraldus Sylvestres Gambrensis, Bishop of St. Davids and Preceptor to Prince John in 1160, wrote that Scotland in his time far surpassed Ireland in “the musical art." So the existence of “Now The Day Daws” before the time of Bruce seems likely to be a matter of fact, as well as tradition. But to return to the little horns. The English, it seems, instead of being terrified actually retaliated in kind. Caxton tells us, "At that time the Englishmen were clothed all in cotes and hodes, peynted with lettres and with flours, full semely, with long berdes; and therefor the Scottes made a bile (bill?), that was fastened upon the chirch dores of Sainte Petre, toward Stangate (in the city of York), and thus said the Scripture in despite of Englishmen." This was in 1328. Lovers of antiquity and fine sounds may be interested in the words used in the “bile," which were.—

Lona berdrx hertheles, peynted hod ex wytlex. Gay rotes graceless, Makes England thriftyles.