The Orkney Style of Courtship
Spoken by John Findlater.
Recorded by Peter Kennedy in Dounby, Mainland of Orkney, Scotland, in 1955.
Spoken:The Orkney style of courtship, they say it doth appear
To those across the Pentland Firth so very, very queer.
But let them court the way they choose,
either by land or sea,
But a blanket sky and a blanket by —
a blanket sky for me,
When I get the old folk off to bed,
the peat's aboot the fire laid,
I cuddled her in the armchair,
and left when morning did appear.
Now if you can in the armchair sit,
your girl take on your knee,
If that's the style that you prefer,
it matters aught to me.
But I'll strip off me boots and coat,
and tell you a', you see,
And jump in bed beside the girl —
a blanket sky for me.
... Well, it was when you were working all day —you had no time. You were working up till late at night. Well, you had to get somewhere to go and see the girl. If her bedroom was upstairs, well, you just had to shoulder a ladder from the nearest place you could find one and go up to the window and give a few taps. And she would come to the window and open and let you in. And you would talk away to her for an hour or two, and then you would drag your way back home again, same as usual.