SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 793 Title : Dipper: 29 - Harpin Author(s): John Reid Copyright holder(s): John Reid Audio transcription M738: Harpin In ilka country roun the warld Aa manner o men tae the rod are thirled. Miners, ministers, men o rank, Ye'll fin them aa on the river bank, Saunt an sinner, rich an puir, Ae common bond will draw them there. But ye'll never see, by stream or puil, Mair diverse friens than Tam an Will. Born in ae village, schuled thegither, They'd roam the hills in ony wather Wi weel-busked flee an birlin reel Tae fill tae the lid the auld sauch creel - Fishin friens, but in ither things As faur apairt as cairds an kings. Tam was an elder o the kirk, A craftsman famed fir his jinerwark, A faimily man, bass in the choir, Kenned an respeckit ower aa the shire. But Will was the pairish neerdaeweel, He'd poach, he'd gamble - maybe steal. Nae lass wad share his clarty hame. For drucken splores he'd made his name. But fishers aa, frae first tae last, Throw, sune or late, their hinmaist cast. A winter cauld, an deep wi snaw, Saw baith oar cronies caad awa, An Peter, wha kenned hou they'd run their race, Airted each ane tae his proper place. Will's fate was clear - amang lost sowls Tae spend his days by the lowin coals. Nae mair the burn in the springtime sweet, But smeek, an stour, an scorchin heat, An he'd sit by the sulphur lochs an wish That the Deil wad stock wi asbestos fish. Het, lang an dreich Will's days burned bye - He'd never kenned his throat sae dry - Until, ae day, in that waesome place, He saw, through the reek, a weel-kenned face. 'My een,' he said,'are no worth a damn! I thocht for a meenit - It is! - It's Tam! 'Man, Tam,' he cried, 'ye gied me a stert, I never thocht you'd come this airt!' 'Sit doun,' said Tam 'on this cinnery knowe, A bittie awa frae that bleezin lowe, An here, for a wee while, rest yoursel, For a lang sad tale I hae tae tell. Whan Peter caad me yont the yett I settled doun in a braw-like bit - A ludge, as snug's a shilfa's nest, With reels an rods an aa the rest 'My first day there, I stertit oot In a heavenly dawn, tae luik for troot. Frae the verra door I cuist my een Ower the bonniest watter I've ever seen. Wi pearly run an crystal puil It wimpled quately, clear an cuil.' (Will grained alood at that heavenly vision, An a passin deevilock grinned derision). 'I hurried doun tae a braw bit run An there he was - a guid fower pun! - Sookin the flees frae a gless-clear glide Wi the spots like bawbees on his side. I threidit the line wi a haun fair shakin, Tied on the mate o the flee he was takin, Then, juist as I made tae raise the rod, I heard a step, an alang cam God! "Guid mornin, God," I blithely cried. "Guid mornin, Tam," the Lord replied. "An whit's tae dae the day?" says I. "Oh, harpin," says He, an I gied a sigh, Pit up my rod, an we turned away, An harped, an harped, an harped aa day. 'Next mornin cam. Wi the early licht I sped tae the bank o that river bricht. The troot was there, as I'm alive An his wecht, I'd hae said, was nearer five My rod was up, an the flee tied fast Whan the bankin shook, as the Lord cam past. 'An sae, "Guid morning, God," say I. "Guid mornin, Tam," was the Lord's reply. "An whit's tae dae the day?" I'm speirin. "Oh, harpin," says He, an I felt like sweerin. I luiked at the troot, then we turned away, An we harped an harped the leelang day. 'The third day, man, it was still gey daurk As I trotted doun that heavenly park, An doun tae the watter, glintin grey In the brekkin dawn o celestial day. He lay by the stane whaur I'd seen him first, An his spreckled sides were like tae burst He was built like a pig, an I'll declare He was six pun wecht - aye, maybe mair. 'I knelt on the bank tae mak my cast, An thocht, "My lad, ye're mine at last" But I heard that step, an checked the rod, An turned my heid, an there was God. "Guid mornin, God," says I, gey weary. "Guid mornin, Tam."says He, quite cheery. "An whit's tae dae the day?" I askit. "Oh, harpin," says He,an I tuik my basket An flung it frae me as faur as I could. "Tae Hell wi harpin!" I roared oot lood. Then fell ower aathing an awesome hush. The birds were silent on ilka bush. I luikit aa roun. The Lord had gane, The troot itsel was ablow some stane. An fower dreid words in Saint Pate's voice cam, "Tae Hell wi you!" - Sae here I am!' A moral clear this tale spells oot - Men maun dae mair than juist catch troot An contrar (gin the last word's Tam's), There's mair tae life than singin psalms! 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: 1000+ Audio awareness & spontaneity Speaker awareness: Aware Degree of spontaneity: Fully scripted Audio footage information Original title: The Dipper an the Three Wee Deils Year of recording: 1993 Recording person id: 752 Size (min): 7 Size (mb): 26 Audio footage publication details Published: Publisher/Broadcaster: Scotsoun Publication/Broadcast date: 1993-01-01 Place of publication/broadcast: Glasgow Audio medium Radio/audio: Audio setting Leisure/entertainment: Private/personal: Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers Friend: Speakers knew each other: Yes Audio speaker relationships Friend: Other: Co-authors of book from which recording was made Audio transcription information Title of original: The Dipper an the Three Wee Deils Transcriber id: 689 Year of transcription: 2005 Year material recorded: 1993 Word count: 888 Audio transcription publication details Published: Publisher/Broadcaster: Luath Press Publication/Broadcast date: 1991-01-01 Place of publication/broadcast: Barr, Ayrshire ISBN/ISSN: 0946487227 Audio type Poetry reading/song/ballad performance: General description: From a recording of a selection of short stories and prize winning poems (Scottish National Open Poetry Competition) Author Author details Author id: 738 Forenames: John Surname: Reid Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1910 Educational attainment: University Age left school: 17 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Retired Head Teacher Place of birth: Dalry Region of birth: N Ayr Birthplace CSD dialect area: Ayr Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Lockerbie Region of residence: Dumfries and Galloway Residence CSD dialect area: Dmf Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Commmercial Traveller Father's place of birth: Dalry Father's region of birth: N Ayr Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Ayr Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Housewife Mother's place of birth: Beith Mother's region of birth: N Ayr Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Ayr Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Home, socially Language: French Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: As necessary Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Home, socially Participant Participant details Participant id: 738 Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1910 Educational attainment: University Age left school: 17 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Protestantism Occupation: Retired Head Teacher Place of birth: Dalry Region of birth: N Ayr Birthplace CSD dialect area: Ayr Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Lockerbie Region of residence: Dumfries and Galloway Residence CSD dialect area: Dmf Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Commmercial Traveller Father's place of birth: Dalry Father's region of birth: N Ayr Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Ayr Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Housewife Mother's place of birth: Beith Mother's region of birth: N Ayr Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Ayr Mother's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Home, socially Language: French Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: As necessary Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Home, socially