Scad the Beggars

[Ptarmigan]

The musicians who play in the North Antrim group ~ Scad the Beggars play regularly in the Smuggler's Inn on Saturday nights, as well as performing at various concerts & functions around the north coast.

Rather than restrict their repertoire to a narrow field, they play a nice mix of Irish, Scottish & English traditional music & song, which they feel best reflects the wide variety of music that local traditional musicians would have always favoured.

To learn more about this group {who incidentally all live in North Antrim} their instruments & their music, check out their web page at:

Scad the Beggars

Cheers
Ptarmigan

[sarach]

Aha! I spy a new line-up of Scad the Beggars - one of my favourite chameleon bands! I recently found some bits of video footage from the last time you were over (and possibly something from the time before with Greg?) Got the fife and dulcimer set, the dancing, ensemble, fiddle and flute and even a brief clip of the massed ranks joining in with The Sarachs on Dawning of the Day. Sound quality is quite good but some of the clips are quite short in an attempt to maximise battery life

If you are happy for me to do so, and you can bear with me for a while I could put some bits up on YouTube. (Our Camcorder is a bit idiosyncratic so it's not entirely straight forward.....)

Do you have a tune you could put up for the Scad the Beggars song ?

[Ptarmigan]

Sure Les, by all means - tear away.

I must admit, the clip I'd really like to see is the one of: "the massed ranks joining in with The Sarachs on Dawning of the Day."

As for the tune to that song, I'm sorry, but it's so long since Charlie Gillen wrote that, I've completely forgotten the air I put to it.

Cheers
Ptarmigan

[emdee]

Is this the same "Dawning of the Day " that was recorded by John McCormack way back in the days of the 78s?

If that is the case, I have heard a great revival of the tune on this side of the water, in the piping scene. I don't think they call it "Dawniing of the Day" but I willl find out what they call it.

If it has a different name could it be politics again? Ptarmigan?

[Ptarmigan]

Dawning of the Day

It's mostly played as a March over here & is usually one of the first tunes beginners learn to play. e.g.

Dawning of the day

Or perhaps you'd prefer a reel CHEESY version:

Dawning of the day

Of course, it sounds just grand played as a March on the Pipes, especially with the harmony line thrown in for good measure:

Dawning of the day

However, you should know that for some folks this makes it a definite no-no in session circles, but for me a good tune is always a good tune & I have no problem playing this tune at a session. After all, there are no bad tunes, just bad players!

However, it is of course, also the air to the well known song "Raglan Road" & anyone who saw & heard Luke Kelly sing this will know what someone can do with a so called "too easy" tune.

"Raglan Road" ~ Luke Kelly

On Raglan Road on an autumn day I met her first and knew
That her dark hair would weave a snare that I might one day rue;
I saw the danger, yet I walked along the enchanted way,
And I said, let grief be a fallen leaf at the dawning of the day.

On Grafton Street in November we tripped lightly along the ledge
Of the deep ravine where can be seen the worth of passion's pledge,
The Queen of Hearts still making tarts and I not making hay -
O I loved too much and by such and such is happiness thrown away.

I gave her gifts of the mind I gave her the secret sign that's known
To the artists who have known the true gods of sound and stone
And word and tint. I did not stint for I gave her poems to say.
With her own name there and her own dark hair like clouds over fields of May

On a quiet street where old ghosts meet I see her walking now
Away from me so hurriedly my reason must allow
That I had wooed not as I should a creature made of clay -
When the angel woos the clay he'd lose his wings at the dawn of day.

X: 1
T: Dawning Of The Day, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: march
K: D Major
DE |\
F2 F2 F2 EF | A2 A2 B2 AF | D2 E2 D2 D2 | D6 A2 |
B3 A B2 d2 | F3 E D2 F2 | A2 F2 d2 F2 | E6 A2 |
B3 A B2 d2 | F3 E D2 F2 | A2 F2 d2 F2 | E6 DE |
F2 F2 F2 EF | A2 A2 B2 AF | D2 F2 E2 D2 | D6 |]

[emdee]

Raglan Road is the name I was looking for!

[Ptarmigan]

Les,

I just remembered ............. the tune I used for that Beggars song was the air to:

Wha Wadna Fight For Charlie

Cheers
Ptarmigan

[sarach]

Thanks Dick - will print off the words and see if we can get it to work!

Re: Dawning of the Day, we played it as an insert towards the end of a Kintyre song called Kilchousland at the Dalriada Connections concert a few years back and various Beggars joined in at that point. It was of course the tune for Raglan Road, which is what we usually call it, but I thought that might be confusing on here when we didn't actually sing the song but played the air. Unfortunately, the clip is not of the whole performance but has the bit just before and after the Beggars came in.

[Ptarmigan]

Please feel free to take as much poetic license with this song as you like. After all, Charlie only wrote it as a wee poem, so I've no doubt it'll need some attention, to convert it to song. For example, you might like to add the word "It's" at the start of the last line of the chorus.

You see, the truth is, we have never actually gotten round to singing it ourselves, but if you guys start singing it, then of course we'll just have to make a stab at it.

Of course, that also means we'll have to start singing one of your songs, too ...... any suggestions?

Cheers
Ptarmigan

[Ptarmigan]

After a wee shufty through it, here's a few wee changes which might help to make it work better as a song.

Scad the Beggars

1
WE HANNAE GOT THE OAT MEAL,
NOR HAE WE A FRYIN PAN,
BUT WERE HERE TAE ENTERTAIN YE
WI THE SCAD THE BEGGARS BAND.

CHORUS
SCAD THE BEGGARS, MEALIE CRUSHIE,
YE CAN CA’ IT WHAT YE CAN,
OATEN MALE AN BACON CREESH,
IT'S TASTY FRYIN IN THE PAN.

2
HOOCH, CLAP AN JOIN THE FUN ,
AN WATCH YER CARES A' FLEE AWA’,
GIN YE AW WID KEN THE CHORUS ,
THEN YE AW CAN SING AWA’ .

3
WE’LL TAK YE BACK TAE GRANNY,
WAE HER SKILLET ON THE CROOK,
THE RECIPES O’ YISTERYEAR,
THEY NIVIR LEEV’T WITHIN A BOOK.

4
SO, COME BACK IN TIME A DANNER ,
JOOST COME WAE US FOR A WHILE,
TAE HEAR THE TUNES AN SANGS AN STORIES ,
THAT ARE SURE TAE YE BEGUILE.

5
SHUT YER EEN AN DRIFT AWA ,
FOR MEMORIES O’ TIMES LANG GAN ,
ON THE SHIP O' DREAMS COME SAILIN ,
WAE THE SCAD THE BEGGARS BAND.

by Charlie Gillen