SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 44 Title : Great duck race Author(s): George Hynd Copyright holder(s): George Hynd Audio transcription The last one is no' for [?]cows[/?] or eavesdroppers, so if you're a [?]cow[/?] or a eavesdropper stick your fingers in your ears and shut your eyes so you cannae see the subtitles. It's called 'The Great Duck Race'. One night when up in auld Saint Claire To see some ritual on the flair, While signin’ in the visitors book Up tae my left ah chanced to look. An' there before ma very e'en Was a notice on the wa' where it could be seen; A muckle big thing richt afore ma face; It was a proclamation o' a great duck race. "Well now", says I and thinks to me, "Whitever can a duck-race be? Would they swim or would they fly? Could ducks race high up in the sky?". And a duck race was a thing that ah'd never seen And ah had visions o' auld Rosslyn Green Fu' o' ducks runnin’ roond in circles, numbers on their backs, A' squawkin’ and quackin’ and goin’, "Quack, quack". Then a' was explained to me by J. P. Munro; That doun the Esk the ducks would flow; A money-makin’ idea that was quite fantastic; For a pound ye got a wee duck made of plastic. An appealin’ idea and it seemed quite sound As the winnin duck got a hunderd pound. So, haein a few bob and feeling a bit lucky Ah purchased masel a wee racin ducky. When ah got the number o' ma racin duck Ah honestly couldnae believe ma luck. Ah just stood there dumfounded, completely transfixed; It was a sign fae the gods, it was number ten sixty-six. For if in front o' ten sixty-six you put six six nine, That's the telephone number o' a guid freend o' mine. In masonic circles he's known very well As wee Andy Bryce o' the [?]Seabies[/?] Hotel. But when ah thought this a' oot my hert beat a bit faster [inaudible] Saint Claire in the toon and he is a past master. A' they facts and ma duck to me were related An’ the feelin it leant me: highly elated. Well when the news o' that number it went roond the flair Some brethren, my guid fortune, they wanted to share. An’ o' forming a syndicate some started to blether But ah wasnae sharin my duck, no' even a feather. To share wi' my brothers never entered ma heid For ah was fair fu' o' that thing they ca' greed. Ma wee lucky duck would be first ower the line An’ that hunderd pound was gonnae be mine. So came the race day, the eighteenth o' June And tae RosslynGlen a' the brethren trooped doon And folks had come fae a' ower the place Tae see the main event; the great Duck Race. The starter he shouted, "On your marks, get set, go!" And intae the Esk a' the ducks he did throw; A seethin' mass o' wee ducks that twisted and turned As they swiftly got caught in the fast flowin’ current. The crowd started cheerin’ and some started to scream As the ducks they bobbed and weaved doon that turbulent stream Then all of a sudden one raced ower the line And the number ca'd oot well it just wasnae mine. I just couldnae believe it, ma wee duck had got beat An' ah sat doon on the bankin’ and had a wee greet, For that lost hunderd pound I started to grieve An’ ah wiped ma nose on ma pullover sleeve. Then certain things they came back to me Aboot whit ah wis taught in my first degree, Things like brotherly love and helpin the needy Things like carin and sharin and no' being greedy. So feelin’ a bit uplifted ah walked oot o' the glen An’ stopped in the main street at a place ye a' ken As ah looked up at that roof it made me feel great Tae think o' my pound note lyin’ a slate. Fur ye see the duck race wasnae aboot winnin’ or just takin’ part It was an appeal for help an' ah shoulda gave fae ma heart. Fur a' the pound notes pit thigither they a’ helped to fix The roof o' the temple o' Saint Claire six oh six. That's the end Bill, ah hope ye listened to it a', son. 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: Audio Audio audience General public: For gender: Mixed Audience size: 1 Audio awareness & spontaneity Speaker awareness: Aware Degree of spontaneity: Spontaneous Audio medium Radio/audio: Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers Speakers knew each other: Yes Audio transcription information Transcriber id: 631 Year of transcription: 2004 Year material recorded: 1995 Word count: 732 Audio type Poetry reading/song/ballad performance: Author Author details Author id: 611 Forenames: George Surname: Hynd Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1940 Educational attainment: None Age left school: 15 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Retired Plasterer Place of birth: Dunfermline Region of birth: Fife Birthplace CSD dialect area: Fif Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Bilston, Roslin Region of residence: Midlothian Residence CSD dialect area: midLoth Father's occupation: Plasterer Father's place of birth: Kelty Father's region of birth: Fife Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Fif Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Housewife Mother's place of birth: Kelty Mother's region of birth: Fife Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Fif Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Participant Participant details Participant id: 611 Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1940 Educational attainment: None Age left school: 15 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Retired Plasterer Place of birth: Dunfermline Region of birth: Fife Birthplace CSD dialect area: Fif Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Bilston, Roslin Region of residence: Midlothian Residence CSD dialect area: midLoth Father's occupation: Plasterer Father's place of birth: Kelty Father's region of birth: Fife Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Fif Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Housewife Mother's place of birth: Kelty Mother's region of birth: Fife Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Fif Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: