Tam was a "weel-kent" figure on the Scottish folk scene, whom I used to see regularly at sessions, and who for a time was a member of the Skelpit Lug Ceilidh Band. He won numerous competitions for fiddle performance and composition; and was sadly missed by many when he passed away at no great age.
He sometimes sang, too, and following the wreck of the "Braer" handed me a poem he had written, asking me if I could turn it into a song. I said I’d have a go, and the result is very much a combined effort as I took Tam’s lyrics, added my own, churned them around and fitted them into a simple tune that seemed to work. Tam himself was pleased with the result, wrote out the dots, and got it published in the TMSA journal.
Thankfully, this particular environmental disaster actually turned out to be less severe than it had at first seemed; but we’ve still a lot to learn, as we were reminded more recent events in the Gulf of Mexico. |
