Auld Ronald: a well-known local character, and other rhymes

Tis an ill wind that blaws naebody gweed

My mither tongue

Aberdeen: Printed for the author

1873

8 pages

Chapbook #7 in a bound collection of 17 chapbooks

ballads & songs

A collection of four ballads, mostly humorous. The first is a satirical ballad about a local figure named Auld Ronald who appears to be well-known around Aberdeen. He is humorously portrayed as scantily clad, poor, and possibly a bit crazy, although he appears to be able to talk on many topics at length, including philosophy and cooking. The ballad also describes several of the supposed inventions that he has created throughout his lifetime, such as a specially designed stove, type-writer, shoes, and even a gag for old scolding women. The second song is a humorous account claiming that “’Tis an Ill Wind That Blaw’s Naebody Gweed [Good]” by describing bad things that happened to people that others benefitted from. The third song is an ode to the author’s ‘mither [mother] tongue’. He describes its role in his own life, growing up speaking it with friends and family, as well as its connections to kin abroad, and its beauty in songs sung past and present. It is not immediately clear if the author is referring to Gaelic (which is not mentioned by name) or to Scots, which the song is written in. The final song is addressed to the Scottish Volunteers, and spends most of its time describing the beauty, history, and heroism of Scotland and those who fight to defend it. This chapbook is part of a collection of chapbooks produced in Aberdeen which have been bound together in this volume.

Courtship and Marriage

emigration

Religion and Morals

Wit and Humor

War

Chapbooks - Scotland - Aberdeen

Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario

National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

JPEGs and PDF derived from master file, which was scanned from the original book in 24-bit color at 600 dpi in TIFF format using an Epson Expression 10000XL scanner.

In the public domain; For high quality reproductions, contact Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph libaspc@uoguelph.ca 519-824-4120 Ext 53413

Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario, Canada