Actually, the first time I saw the title "The Keelman Ower Land", I assumed it was a tune about a waterman who had died/drowned. Growing up near the sea and around fishermen, I had heard the legend of when a sailor/fisherman dies, he is to walk over the land and away from the sea with an oar over his shoulder until someone asks what it was, and then he had arrived at paradise. FWIW, I learned later that this legend may have had its origin in the Odyssey by Homer where Ulysses was told, in order to appease the god of the sea, Poseidon, that he had to walk inland with an oar until he was questioned, make a sacrifice there, and then he would die peacefully. Chips Lanier the Red Goblin wrote:
-----Original Message----- From: Matt Seattle [[1]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 * [2]http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=9172 To get on or off this list see list information at [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html References 1. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 2. http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=9172 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
