SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 814 Title : In Reverberation Author(s): Andrina Connell Copyright holder(s): Andrina Connell Text Yince, years ago, in days lang syne, Napoleon's Navy sailed the brine. Up west o' Scotland, tae the Clyde, Whaur sons o' the Green Oak Tree did bide. Port Glasgow folk heard o' this yarn And tae their neibours they did warn, "A foreign Frenchman's jumped his boat An siller' offered if he's caught!" So Greenock men searched low and high, While rain fell, pouring, frae the sky, Until they fun him, up a tree, Girning in French it seemed to be. Tho' soaked and wild they grabbed him quick And pit him intae Greenock nick. Soon he was tried, his sentence read, And he was hung - till he was dead. To gie the Greenock folk their due, Because they couldny parley vous, A linguist they had tried to trace To help the prisoner plead his case. Had their endeavours been rewarded Portonians would have ne'er regarded The Greenock folk as gormless dopes For hanging a monkey frae the ropes! The eastern burgers jeered and taunted. While poor Greenockians, sorely daunted, Their monkey up, maun find a way To avenge their pride some rainy day. They thought up schemes of retribution Against that primate's execution. A campanologist o' fame Was feed to help them save their name. They kent Port Glasgow's civic bell Was dinging dull, an' truth to tell, Saw chance o' sweet retaliation To rid them o' their sour frustration. The Port's toon council was impressed, In fact they never thocht, or guessed That Greenock men wad stoop sae low, To strike wi' sik a ringing blow. The expert had the bell brocht doon And there, afore the whole danged town, Saut water tae the brim he raised An' then a fire ablow it blazed. Of coorse the bell soon cracked and broke And only Greenock saw the joke. The boiled bell couldny even "dung" And aw because a monkey'd hung. And still the day, this year o' grace, Greenockians maun, to save their face, When speired, "Who hung the monkey, well?" Reply, "Aye, but - who b'iled the bell?" This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Text Text audience General public: Audience size: 1000+ Text details Method of composition: Handwritten Year of composition: 1986 Word count: 350 Text medium Newspaper: Periodical/journal: Text publication details Published: Publisher: Greenock Telegraph 1986 / West Coat Magazine 1988 / Scottish Memories 1993 Text setting Leisure/entertainment: Text type Poem/song/ballad: Author Author details Author id: 821 Forenames: Andrina Surname: Connell Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1930 Educational attainment: GCSEs/O-Grades Age left school: 15 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Retired Civil Servant Place of birth: Johnstone Region of birth: Renfrew Birthplace CSD dialect area: Renfr Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Inchinnan Region of residence: Renfrew Residence CSD dialect area: Renfr Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Ships Draughtsman Father's place of birth: Port Glasgow Father's region of birth: Renfrew Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Renfr Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Housewife Mother's place of birth: Inverkip Mother's region of birth: Renfrew Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Renfr Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: At all times Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: When occasion arises