Music and the Flow of Life

Some songs sung by the Scottish Travellers of Williamson’s day were unique to that group. Duncan sings two such songs that were women’s favorites. Other songs sung by Williamson and other Travellers were widely known; an example is “The Factory Girl,” a favorite of the broadside press. Duncan tells about communal song composition among the Travellers and sings a song in cant, “Big Jimmy Drummond,” about a Traveller who was arrested for stealing hens. He also sings two songs of his own composition, one of which, a satirical song called “The Nicknames,” features code names for Traveller “breeds,” or family groups. Some songs that he learned when young were half told and half sung, like medieval cantefables. Instrumental music too was prized, especially the music of the pipes. Moreover, Duncan learned to imitate bird calls — the origins of our music? — by listening to birds singing in the woods.