John Strachan (singer)
Encyclopedia
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
. In 1888 he moved with his father to Craigies in Tarves. In 1895 he moved back to Crichie, which became his own farm in 1897. It was still rented, but he bought it in 1918. By 1939 he was successful enough to own five farms. He became president of the Turriff
Agricultural Association. He died in Crichie.
John Strachan was a "tradition bearer". He was part of the last generation to sing traditional songs in bothies, along with Davie Stewart, Jimmie MacBeath and Willie Scott, though he never met them, as far we know. A dancing master visited the farms. The farm labourers would learn to dance the highland fling and sword dances, at that time performed in hard shoes. John was dismissive of the modern fashion to perform Highland dancing in soft shoes, or "Patent slippers" as he called them. He learned songs from his mother and from the servants on his father's farm. His social status was higher than almost all other recorded singers of ballads. He was refused entry to a fraternity called "The Horseman's Word", intended for farmservants who looked after horses. They claimed to be able to control horses through whispering special words in a horse's ear.
In 1930 the American collector James Madison Carpenter
came from Harvard with a wax cylinder recorder. He reached Crichie about midnight. Strachan sang "Dark and Shallow Water" for Carpenter. Strachan had learned the song from Jimmy Smith. Later they both travelled over 50 miles to find him, only to discover that he had forgotten the song. Carpenter was sufficiently impressed by Strachan to invite him to return to the States with him, but he refused. In 1935 a radio program "The Farm Year" was broadcast live from Crichie. Using songs, stories and authentic sound effects such as bagpipes and revving cars, they dramatised farm work. John Strachan and another singer, Willie Kemp
, took part. John Mearns sang "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie
" on the broadcast.
Fyvie is about 3 miles from Crichie. On 16 July 1951, John Strachan sang the song for Alan Lomax
who recorded it using a portable tape recorder. It is the earliest known recording of the song. Some of the recordings made that year were issued commercially on "Folk Songs of Britain" in 1960, but the fullest version was in 2002 on the album "Songs from Aberdeenshire". They are fine examples of Doric dialect (Scotland)
.
John Strachan had a repertoire of songs that had been passed down by word of mouth, probably in this same locality, for over 200 years. Bob Dylan
recorded "Peggy O" on his first album in 1962. Simon and Garfunkel
recorded it in 1964, as "Peggy-O" (The Bonny Lass O Fyvie
) on the album "Wednesday Morning 3AM". The Corries
recorded it in 1965. On the album, Strachan sings "Lang Johnnie More", 43 verses long, lasting almost 13 minutes, to the tune of "Caul Kail in Aberdeen". Just afterwords, he said "Noo it's too long that". In 1851, probably nobody would have thought it unusual to sing songs as long as that. Strachan must have known many bawdy songs but seemed reluctant to sing them. He gave us a fragment of "The Ball of Kirriemuir", also known as "Four and Twenty Virgins went up to Inverness". At the end he says "It's a terrible een".
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...
.
John Strachan was born on a farm, Crichie, near St. Katherines in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
. His father had made his fortune by trading in horses, and had rented the farm. From 1886 John attended Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery-S6.-History:...
as a boarder 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 ....
. In 1888 he moved with his father to Craigies in Tarves. In 1895 he moved back to Crichie, which became his own farm in 1897. It was still rented, but he bought it in 1918. By 1939 he was successful enough to own five farms. He became president of the Turriff
Turriff
Turriff is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It is approximately above sea level, and has a population of 5,708.Turriff is known locally as Turra in the Doric dialect of Scots...
Agricultural Association. He died in Crichie.
John Strachan was a "tradition bearer". He was part of the last generation to sing traditional songs in bothies, along with Davie Stewart, Jimmie MacBeath and Willie Scott, though he never met them, as far we know. A dancing master visited the farms. The farm labourers would learn to dance the highland fling and sword dances, at that time performed in hard shoes. John was dismissive of the modern fashion to perform Highland dancing in soft shoes, or "Patent slippers" as he called them. He learned songs from his mother and from the servants on his father's farm. His social status was higher than almost all other recorded singers of ballads. He was refused entry to a fraternity called "The Horseman's Word", intended for farmservants who looked after horses. They claimed to be able to control horses through whispering special words in a horse's ear.
In 1930 the American collector James Madison Carpenter
James Madison Carpenter
James Madison Carpenter, born in Blacklands, Mississippi in 1888, was a Methodist minister and scholar of American and British folklore. He received his bachelor and masters of arts degrees from the University of Mississippi, and a PhD from Harvard in 1929. He is most known for his substantial...
came from Harvard with a wax cylinder recorder. He reached Crichie about midnight. Strachan sang "Dark and Shallow Water" for Carpenter. Strachan had learned the song from Jimmy Smith. Later they both travelled over 50 miles to find him, only to discover that he had forgotten the song. Carpenter was sufficiently impressed by Strachan to invite him to return to the States with him, but he refused. In 1935 a radio program "The Farm Year" was broadcast live from Crichie. Using songs, stories and authentic sound effects such as bagpipes and revving cars, they dramatised farm work. John Strachan and another singer, Willie Kemp
Willie Kemp
Willie Kemp, King of the Cornkisters, was born in Oldmeldrum in 1888 and died in 1965. He is best known as a singer and writer of Doric comic songs...
, took part. John Mearns sang "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie
The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie
The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie is a Scottish folk song about a thwarted romance between a soldier and a girl. Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed, there is no strict version of the lyrics, and it is often referred to by its opening line There once was a troop o' Irish dragoons...
" on the broadcast.
Fyvie is about 3 miles from Crichie. On 16 July 1951, John Strachan sang the song for 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...
who recorded it using a portable tape recorder. It is the earliest known recording of the song. Some of the recordings made that year were issued commercially on "Folk Songs of Britain" in 1960, but the fullest version was in 2002 on the album "Songs from Aberdeenshire". They are fine examples of Doric dialect (Scotland)
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:...
.
- 1. The Hairst o Rettie
- 2. The Miller of Straloch
- 3. GlenlogieGlenlogie-Synopsis:Jeannie, fifteen or seventeen, sees Glenlogie and falls in love. Various attempts to persuade her that he's unsuitable for her, either by offering another match or by pointing out the disparity of their stations, are unavailing. Glenlogie hears and agrees to marry her.-External links:*...
[Child No 238] - 4. The Beggar Man [Child No 279 Appendix]
- 5. Rhynie (with chorus)
- 6. The Merchant's Son (fragmentary. With introduction)
- 7. The Minister's Daughters They Were There [The Ball of Kirriemuir]
- 8. Fragments: Loch Leven Castle, Fin the Bed Began to Heat (Tail Toddle), Cuckoo's Nest. With commentary]
- 9. Binnorie, O Binnorie [The Twa Sisters][Child No 10]
- 10. The Knight and the Shepherd's DaughterThe Knight and the Shepherd's Daughter"The Knight and the Shepherd’s Daughter" is an English ballad, collected by Francis James Child as Child Ballad 110.-Synopsis:A knight persuades a shepherd's daughter to give him her virginity. She chases after him to court, on foot while he is on horseback, and demands marriage. He attempts to...
[Child No 110] - 11. The Stootest Man in the Forty Twa (with chorus)
- 12. Bonny Udny
- 13. The Bonny Lass O FyvieThe Bonnie Lass o' FyvieThe Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie is a Scottish folk song about a thwarted romance between a soldier and a girl. Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed, there is no strict version of the lyrics, and it is often referred to by its opening line There once was a troop o' Irish dragoons...
- 14. Clyde's Water [Child No 216]
- 15. The Laird O DrumThe Laird o Drum-Synopsis:The lord of Drum goes to woo a shepherd lass. She does not believe him but sends him to her father, who gives his consent. His brother claims that it disgraces the family. The lord says that his brother wedded a wife to spend money, and he a wife to work and win; he had a lady of...
[Child No 236] - 16. Robin Hood [Child No 114]
- 17. Macpherson's Rant
- 18. The Guise O Tough
- 19. Johnnie O Braidislie (with chorus)
- 20. The Bogheid Crew
- 21. Harrowing Time
- 22. Where the Gadie Rins (with chorus)
- 23. Lang Johnnie More [Child No 251]
- 24. I Had Some Far Better Verses Than That [interview]
John Strachan had a repertoire of songs that had been passed down by word of mouth, probably in this same locality, for over 200 years. Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
recorded "Peggy O" on his first album in 1962. Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
recorded it in 1964, as "Peggy-O" (The Bonny Lass O Fyvie
The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie
The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie is a Scottish folk song about a thwarted romance between a soldier and a girl. Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed, there is no strict version of the lyrics, and it is often referred to by its opening line There once was a troop o' Irish dragoons...
) on the album "Wednesday Morning 3AM". The Corries
The Corries
The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. Although the group was a trio in the early days, it was as the partnership of Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne that it is best known.-Early years:...
recorded it in 1965. On the album, Strachan sings "Lang Johnnie More", 43 verses long, lasting almost 13 minutes, to the tune of "Caul Kail in Aberdeen". Just afterwords, he said "Noo it's too long that". In 1851, probably nobody would have thought it unusual to sing songs as long as that. Strachan must have known many bawdy songs but seemed reluctant to sing them. He gave us a fragment of "The Ball of Kirriemuir", also known as "Four and Twenty Virgins went up to Inverness". At the end he says "It's a terrible een".