Comments on: Words spoken, not written

By: Not important

Not important — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:59:52 +0000

THE MILK-WHITE DOO.
There was ance a man that wrought in the fields, and had a wife, and a son, and a dochter. So, ae day he catched a hare, and took it hame to his wife, and / p.53 / bade her make it ready for his dinner. Weel, ye see, the gudewife aye tasted and tasted at the hare when she was making it ready, till she had tasted it a’ away, and she didna ken what to do for her gudeman’s dinner. So she cried in Johny her son, to come and get his head kaimed ; and when she was kaiming his head, she slew him, and put him into the pat. Weel, ye see, the gudeman cam hame to his dinner, and his wife set down Johny weel boiled to him ; and when he was eating he takes up a fit [foot], and says, ” That’s surely my Johny’s fit.” ” Sic nonsense ! it’s ane o’ the hare’s,” says the gudewife. Syne he took up a hand, and says, ” That’s surely my Johny’s hand.” ” Ye’re havering, gudeman ; it’s anither o’ the hare’s feet.” Sae, when the gudeman had eaten his dinner, little Katy, Johny’s sister, gathered a’ the banes, and put them in below a stane at the cheek o’ the door—
Where they grew, and they grew,
To a milk-white doo,
That took its wings,
And away it flew.
And it flew till it cam to where twa women were washing claes, and it sat down on a stane, and cried—
” My mother slew me,
My father chew me,
My sister gathered my banes,
And put them between twa milk-white stanes ;
And I grew, and I grew,
To a milk-white doo,
And I took to my wings, and away I flew.”
” Say that ower again, my bonnie bird, and we’ll gie ye a’ thir claes,” says the woman.
” My mother slew me,” &c.
And it got the claes ; and then flew till it cam to a man counting a great heap o’ siller, and it sat down and cried—
” My mother slew me,” &c.
” Say that again, my bonnie bird, and I’ll gie ye a’ this siller,” says the man.
” My mother slew me,” &c.
And it got a’ the siller ; and syne it flew till it cam to twa millers grinding corn, and it cried—
” My mother slew me,” &c.
” Say that again, my bonnie bird, and I’ll gie ye this millstane,” says the miller.
” My mother slew me,” &c.
And it gat the millstane ; and syne it flew till it lighted on its father’s house-top. It threw sma’ stanes down the lum, and Katy came out to see what was the matter ; and the doo threw a’ the claes to her. Syne the father cam out, and the doo threw a’ the siller to him. And syne the mother cam out, and the doo threw down the millstane upon her and killed her. And at last it flew away, and the gudeman and his dochter after that
Lived happy and died happy,
And never drank out of a dry cappy.*

—————————
* Our Annandale authority—Nurse Jenny Blackadder—had a different version of the Milk-White Doo. It represented Kate as sitting under the table, and, “aye as the gudeman threw the banes to the cat, she catched them.” The murdered infant grew into ” a wee green bird :” it sang—
” Pippety pew,
My mammy me slew ;
My daddy me ate ;
My sister Kate
Gathered a’ my banes,
And laid them between twa milk-white stanes ;
And a bird I grew,
And awa’ I flew,
Singing pippety pew, pippety pew,”—Da capo.

By: Piers Cawley

Piers Cawley — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:20:28 +0000

Late to this one, but

Me Mammy kilt me; me daddie et me;
Me sister Mary picket ma banes,

becomes:

My mother killed me; my father ate me;
My sister Mary picked my bones,

By: Laurence Vittes

Laurence Vittes — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:46:14 +0000

I dunna know. If you take the long look, the odds are heavily in favor of the future being created by forces much larger than whether culture is behaving this way or that. If you assume it’s totally beyond your control, and you might as well enjoy it, what 2 or 3 things could you do to indulge yourself. If it were me, I would take off for a long romanticx weekend and listen to the music that triggered my love for music:op. 131, zaide and fledermaus, k. 453, and la belle helene. And play some tennis, too.
If you take the short look, then you’ve got to know how much your sanity depends on having faith in the future and going with the flow. Not that I’m recommending sanity. Especially if you’re a writer. Not to mention that it’s hard to find work even at the best of times.
Gotta go write -

By: Do you communicate effectively? — webdesignability.com

Do you communicate effectively? — webdesignability.com — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:09:01 +0000

[...] about writing, Matthew Stibbe has some advice for us on the topic of effective communication. In words spoken not written he says we should write as people really talk and tell stories. I have to agree. Even if it [...]

By: Matthew Stibbe

Matthew Stibbe — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:02:28 +0000

I think kilt = killed, et = and picket = picked at?

By: uc2009

uc2009 — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:06:57 +0000

Hi, Matthew

would you like to help me translate the following two lines in English? what does “kilt”,”et”,”picket”mean here?

Me Mammy kilt me; me daddie et me;
Me sister Mary picket ma banes,

Thank you!

By: They just don’t make ‘em like that no more

They just don’t make ‘em like that no more — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:29:36 +0000

[...] one of my favorite writers, who writes at Bad Language, wrote about this today as well. His post, Words spoken, not written, inspired me to get off my butt, take this out of my to do stack, and bring it to your attention [...]

By: Matthew Stibbe

Matthew Stibbe — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:39:49 +0000

Eddy, you’re a star. I look forward to listening to this tomorrow. Many thanks. Matthew

By: Matthew Stibbe

Matthew Stibbe — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:39:24 +0000

Nice to see you back on the blog, Richard. Thanks for the comment. “Writing as people talk” … I wish! It’s funny that graphic designers get paid for being ‘creative’ but corporate writers (PR, marcomms, me etc.) get paid for sound ‘professional’. I think the undervalue comes from the fact that everyone can write, even if they do it badly, but very few people can draw. So writing in a stilted, formal way seems more difficult and therefore more valuable. It’s hard to persuade people otherwise. Hence this is a constant theme on this blog and in my life.

By: Eddy Carroll

Eddy Carroll — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:12:05 +0000

Radio 4′s Last Word had a section on Robertson last Friday, including voice recordings; you can hear it online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mcxcj