Jimmy MacBeath
Encyclopedia
Jimmy MacBeath was an itinerant worker and singer of Bothy Ballads
from the north east of Scotland. He was a source of traditional songs for singers of the mid 20th century Folk Revival in Great Britain.
) was born to a family of Scottish Travellers
in the fishing village of Portsoy
, Banffshire
, Scotland
. He learned songs such as "Lord Randall" (Child Ballad 12) from his mother. At the age of 13 he started work as a live-in farm hand at Deskford. He was a bachelor all his life and learned many songs in the bothies, or farm huts where the male farm workers lived. He was to be a traveller for much of his life; in 1908 he took his first long walk, from Inverness
to Perth
. In the First World War he joined the Gordon Highlanders and fought in Flanders. Later he served in the Medical Corps during the Anglo-Irish War. In the 1920s he was demobbed. Working as a kitchen porter, begging and at seasonal fruit picking, he set about tramping the roads of Scotland, England
, the Channel Islands
, and even Nova Scotia
. In the streets, pubs, hiring fairs and markets he earned money by singing. It is even said that he sang in cinemas where there was no piano for silent films. He tended to wander during the summer, and spend the winter in Elgin
. He died in Tor-Na-Dee hospital in Aberdeen
and was buried in Portsoy.
". He was part of the last generation to sing traditional songs in bothies, along with John Strachan
, and Willie Scott, In the 1920s he travelled the roads with Davie Stewart, who was also a singer, and who played the bagpipes and accordion. Their styles were very different, so one sang while the other collected. He lived in "model lodging houses", government-run houses for homeless men, slightly better than "flophouses". In 1951 Alan Lomax
and Hamish Henderson
were in Turriff, when they heard about Jimmy in Elgin. At the prospect of living at the expense of Columbia Records, he came to Turriff and stayed at one of the best hotel rooms. In 1952 he went to London to appear on the earliest folk series on British television. For many years he was popular in folk clubs. When he sang "The Barnyards of Delgaty" at the 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh, the audience were rapturous.
Repertoire
A number of the songs he sang has been passed on to singers involved in the early times of the Folk Revival in England and Scotland e.g. "The Keach in the Creel" and "Tramps and Hawkers". Peter Kennedy's collection Folksongs of Britain and Ireland (1975) included 13 of Jimmy MacBeath's songs.
His songs and interviews have examples of beggar's cant
, a secret language.
These words are Romany, and ultimately Hindi. He also sang songs in Doric dialect
, such as "Fae Would Be a Fisherman's Wife?". For lovers of the occult, track 11 on CD 2 of "Two Gentlemen of the Road", is of interest. He describes the initiation ceremony of "The Horseman's Word", a kind of Masonic organisation for horsemen wanting to control horses using secret words. They met between midnight and 1 a.m. and asked the initiate as series of questions, including "Was the road crooked or straight?" - "The Road was dark and crooked. I come by the light of the moon". He would be harnessed and dragged through chaff—broken fragments of dry sharp stalks of wheat. The initiate would have to shake hands with a young calf. This might be interpreted as greeting the devil. The initiate wore a tricorne hat, and heard obscure words recited from a book. Alan Lomax's response is "Sounds like witchcraft to me". MacBeath is very sceptical about the whole affair. There is no way of knowing whether this is a centuries-old ceremony, or a scam dreamed up in the 19th century to prevent outsiders from getting work as horsemen.
Bothy ballad
Bothy Ballads are songs sung by farm labourers, specifically in the northeast region of Scotland.Bothies are outbuildings on a big farm, where unmarried farm labourers used to sleep often in harsh conditions. In the evening, to entertain themselves they sang old songs and often composed their own...
from the north east of Scotland. He was a source of traditional songs for singers of the mid 20th century Folk Revival in Great Britain.
Life
Jimmy MacBeath ' onMouseout='HidePop("562")' href="/topics/Macbeth">MacbethMacbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
) was born to a family of Scottish Travellers
Scottish Travellers
Scottish Travellers, or the people termed loosely Gypsies and Tinkers in Scotland, consist of a number of diverse, unrelated communities, with groups speaking a variety of different languages and holding to distinct customs, histories, and traditions...
in the fishing village of Portsoy
Portsoy
Portsoy is a burgh in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly in the county of Banffshire. The original name of the town was Pert Soaidh, which translates as 'The wooded place of the warriors...
, Banffshire
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He learned songs such as "Lord Randall" (Child Ballad 12) from his mother. At the age of 13 he started work as a live-in farm hand at Deskford. He was a bachelor all his life and learned many songs in the bothies, or farm huts where the male farm workers lived. He was to be a traveller for much of his life; in 1908 he took his first long walk, from Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
to Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
. In the First World War he joined the Gordon Highlanders and fought in Flanders. Later he served in the Medical Corps during the Anglo-Irish War. In the 1920s he was demobbed. Working as a kitchen porter, begging and at seasonal fruit picking, he set about tramping the roads of Scotland, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
, and even Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. In the streets, pubs, hiring fairs and markets he earned money by singing. It is even said that he sang in cinemas where there was no piano for silent films. He tended to wander during the summer, and spend the winter in Elgin
Elgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
. He died in Tor-Na-Dee hospital in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
and was buried in Portsoy.
Singing career
Jimmy MacBeath was a "traditional singerTraditional singer
A Traditional singer is someone who has learned folk songs in their original context - for example while sailing a ship or working on a farm. Until modern inventions such as the phonograph radio and cinema became common, this was the only way for ordinary people to learn songs.By the time of the...
". He was part of the last generation to sing traditional songs in bothies, along with John Strachan
John Strachan (singer)
John Strachan was a Scottish farmer and singer of Bothy Ballads.John Strachan was born on a farm, Crichie, near St. Katherines in Aberdeenshire. His father had made his fortune by trading in horses, and had rented the farm. From 1886 John attended Robert Gordon's College as a boarder in Aberdeen....
, and Willie Scott, In the 1920s he travelled the roads with Davie Stewart, who was also a singer, and who played the bagpipes and accordion. Their styles were very different, so one sang while the other collected. He lived in "model lodging houses", government-run houses for homeless men, slightly better than "flophouses". In 1951 Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
and Hamish Henderson
Hamish Henderson
Hamish Scott Henderson, was a Scottish poet, songwriter, soldier, and intellectual....
were in Turriff, when they heard about Jimmy in Elgin. At the prospect of living at the expense of Columbia Records, he came to Turriff and stayed at one of the best hotel rooms. In 1952 he went to London to appear on the earliest folk series on British television. For many years he was popular in folk clubs. When he sang "The Barnyards of Delgaty" at the 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh, the audience were rapturous.
Repertoire
A number of the songs he sang has been passed on to singers involved in the early times of the Folk Revival in England and Scotland e.g. "The Keach in the Creel" and "Tramps and Hawkers". Peter Kennedy's collection Folksongs of Britain and Ireland (1975) included 13 of Jimmy MacBeath's songs.
His songs and interviews have examples of beggar's cant
Thieves' cant
Thieves' cant or Rogues' cant was a secret language which was formerly used by thieves, beggars and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in other English-speaking countries...
, a secret language.
- Gadgie in this keer - manager in this place
- manashee - girl
These words are Romany, and ultimately Hindi. He also sang songs in Doric dialect
Doric dialect (Scotland)
Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in the northeast of Scotland.-Nomenclature:...
, such as "Fae Would Be a Fisherman's Wife?". For lovers of the occult, track 11 on CD 2 of "Two Gentlemen of the Road", is of interest. He describes the initiation ceremony of "The Horseman's Word", a kind of Masonic organisation for horsemen wanting to control horses using secret words. They met between midnight and 1 a.m. and asked the initiate as series of questions, including "Was the road crooked or straight?" - "The Road was dark and crooked. I come by the light of the moon". He would be harnessed and dragged through chaff—broken fragments of dry sharp stalks of wheat. The initiate would have to shake hands with a young calf. This might be interpreted as greeting the devil. The initiate wore a tricorne hat, and heard obscure words recited from a book. Alan Lomax's response is "Sounds like witchcraft to me". MacBeath is very sceptical about the whole affair. There is no way of knowing whether this is a centuries-old ceremony, or a scam dreamed up in the 19th century to prevent outsiders from getting work as horsemen.
Discography
- - Wild Rover No More (1967)
- - Bound To Be A Row (1976)
- - Two Gentlemen of the Road (2002) (anthology by Jimmy MacBeath and Davie Stewart)
- - There is a man upon the farm - The Voice of the PeopleThe Voice of the PeopleThe Voice of the People is an anthology of folk songs sung by Traditional singers and musicians of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.There are 511 recordings on 20 CDs, compiled by Dr Reg Hall, a historian at Sussex University...
vol 20 (1998) (various artists)