The Day I Met wi Hector

John Valentine, Aberdeen: On Autumn Harvest ah011: Old Songs & Bothy Ballads 8: The Little Ball of Yarn Live from the Fife Traditional Singing Festival May 2011.

A recent cornkister composed by Simon Brown of Aberchirder (known as Foggyloan) in Aberdeenshire under the full title Hector Hosie and Auld Broon. The song tells of a Hector Hosie, a character from Foggyloan when he and his pal Auld Broon go on a drinking spree. Text transcribed is as sung by John Valentine. Original text as composed by Simon Brown.

1: Fur the sake o ma health I took a wauk one summer's day at dawn,
I met a man wi a horse an cairt on the road that I gaed on;
A friendly conversation passed atween that man and me,
The day 'at I met wi Hector and we both gaed on the spree.

2: Says he look man jump onto the cairt, it'll tak ye aff o the road,
The horse'll pul the two o us, it'll nae be heavy load;
He then produced a bottle and we drank most cheerily,
The day 'at I met wi Hector and we both gaed on the spree.

3: Says I, "Look man yer horse is tired, it must be very old,
It must be a five an a thirty year since that poor beast was foaled;
It used tae pul the hearse awa back in the year o forty three."
The day 'at I met wi Hector and we both gaed on the spree.

4: The harness it wis unca grey for it nivir saw a clean,
The strae hung oot o the collar and the saidle wis fairly deen;
It wis battered up wi rivets and tied wi baler twine ye see,
The day 'at I met wi Hector and we both gaed on the spree.


5: The cairt wis unca shaky but it wis made o the best o wood,
Aye, it had been in action since the time o Noah's flood;
He seldom greased he's aixles but one year oot o three,
The day 'at I met wi Hector and we both gaed on the spree.
 
6: As we cam in be Netherdale an in tae Foggie toon,
The folk aa stood an gaped at us an lookit us up an doun,
Bit the horsie stopped at the New Inn door, he'd bin there afore ye see,
The day 'at I met wi Hector and we both gaed on the spree.

7: Noo Hector's horsie it is dead an his cairt has gone for scrap,
An Hector he's aa mechanised an he disnae care a rap;
But we'll nae forget the happy days o the horse an cairt ye see,
An we'll meet again wi Hector and we'll both go on the spree.

c p 2012 Autumn Harvest : www.springthyme.co.uk