Of course the 'ower long' in the printed text, probably sounded 'ower lang', so we don't fully lose the internal rhyme.
I read this song as referring to a keelman being nabbed by a press gang when he was on shore. If more verses had survived, the reading might be clearer. John -----Original Message----- From: the Red Goblin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 31 October 2008 14:08 To: nsp Subject: [NSP] Re: "Maa Bonny Lad" > -----Original Message----- > From: Matt Seattle [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 31 October 2008 10:54 8< snip > My question is, is there a meaning apart from the obvious in the > notion of the Keelman going "oe'r land" in this song and in the title > of the pipe tune? Well, I can brainstorm 3 possibilities to get the ball rolling: A: Walking from home to join a keel crew B: Gone ashore to plant a mooring post C: Returning home after death I'm assuming A was the obvious one. In support of B is the following line (in your ref. "He's gyen to moor the keel, O!"). Or, more strongly, in 'Bonnie Keel Laddie'* ("He's geane ower land, wiv a stick in his hand, T' help to moor the keel, o!"). But contrariwise: 1: It implies the questioner is already on board 2: The question implies a longer time-span than such a task requires Finally, considering the 2nd verse's gloomy answer, C may even be a reference to (primarily Celtic) beliefs about: 1: Souls being unable to cross water 2: The homeward routes taken by the souls of deceased warriors according to whether they died bravely or ingloriously (the oft-misinterpreted heavenly 'high road' vs. underground 'low road' theme as embodied by the 'Loch Lomond' song) Too fanciful ? Yeah, probably ! R&DFC Cheers, Steve Collins * http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=9172 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
