Henry's Songbook

My faither was a baillie on a wee fairm at Caiplie
And he worked on the land a' the days o' his life
By the time he made second, he said he reckoned
He'd ploughed nearly half o' the East Neuk o' Fife
He fee'd on at Randerston, Crawhill and Clephinton
Cambo, Carnbee, Kilrennie Hill
At Kingsbarns he married, at Boarhills he's buried
Man, if he'd lived, he'd be ploughing there still

For those days were his days, those ways were his ways
To follow the plough while his back was still strong
But those days are past and the time's come at last
For the weakness of age to make way for the young

I wasnae for ploughing, to the sea I was going
To follow the fish and the fisherman's ways
In rain, hail and sunshine I watched the lang runline
Nae man mair contented his whale working day
I've lang lined the Fladden Ground, the Dutch and the Dogger Bank
Pulled the big fish from the deep Devil's Hole
I've side trawled off Shetland, the Faroes and Iceland
In weather much worse than a body could thole

For those days were my days, those ways were my ways
To follow the fish while my back was still strong
But those days are past and the time's come at last
For the weakness of age to make way for the young

My sons they have grown and away they have gone
To search for black oil in the far northern sea
Like oilmen they walk, like Texans they talk
Nay, there's no' much in common between my sons and me
They've rough-rigged on Josephine, Forties and Ninian
Claymore, Dunlin, Fisher and Awk
They've made fortunes for sure, for in one trip ashore
They spend more than I earned in a whole season's work

For this day is their day, this way is their way
To ride the rough rigs while their backs are still strong
But this day will pass and the time come at last
For the weakness of age to make way for the young

My grandsons are growing, to school now they're going
But the lang weeks o' summer they spend here wi' me
We walk through the warm days, we talk of the old ways
The cornfield, the codfish, the land and the sea
We walk through the fields my father once tilled
Talk wi' the old men who once sailed wi' me
Man, it's been awfu' guid, I showed them all I could
O' the past and the present, what their future might be

For tomorrow is their day, what will be their way
What will they make of their land, sea and sky
Man, I've seen awfu' change, still it seems very strange
To look at the world through a young laddie's eyes

(as sung by Iain MacKintosh)

[1979:] A new song written by Matt Armour reminding us of the rapid changes that have taken place in the East Neuk of Fife. We have had a great response from audiences to this song - several Fife people have told us that the story is true of their family, and everyone seems to enjoy its optimism. (Notes 'Cilla & Artie Trezise')

[1993:] My favourite county in Scotland is Fife. It's on the east coast, and there's a part of Fife that sticks out into the North Sea. It's called the East Neuk of Fife - farming and fishing country. The song tells how the economy of Scotland shaped the destiny of four generations in one family. (Intro Iain MacKintosh)

[1995:] Celebrates a different kind of journey, one which touches most Scots; the pace of change in our country shows no sign of slowing down. How many of us are as well adjusted to it as this fine song's narrator? (Notes Iain MacKintosh & Brian McNeill, 'Stage By Stage')

[2000:] Four generations of the same family and all the differences in their lives and work, described with telling simplicity against the timeless background of Scotland's countryside. The ploughing, the fishing, the oil and the future ... Anyone who wants a quick primer of what Scotland's rural communities have been through in the last seventy or so years couldn't do better than listen to this. (Notes Iain MacKintosh & Brian McNeill, 'Live and Kicking')