Context:
| Location: |
Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland (NS5620) |
| Year: |
Perf. c.1883 |
| Time of Occurrence: |
[Not given] |
| Collective Name: |
[Not given] |
|
Source:
[Annie Dunlop]
Ayrshire Notes
Kilmamock Standard and Ayrshire Weekly News,
13th Mar.1948, No. 4422, p.3a-b
|
Cast:
|
Text:
[Introducer]
A-room! A-room! ye gallant boys;
and give me room to rhyme.
Ye think we're of the dirty crew;
we're of the royal prime,
Stir up the fire and give us light
for in this house there'll be a fight.
If you don't believe these words, I say:
Step in. Sir William Wallace, and clear the way.
WALLACE
Here come I, Sir William Wallace, stout as I am brave.
Many a bold Englishman I've sent to his grave.
'Tis forty years since Bruce's fa'.
If I'd him here I'd lay him low.
BRUCE
Here come I, King Robert the Bruce, my battle-axe over my shoulder.
England, Ireland to reduce, and Scotland to reign over.
I killed a dog in yonder field,
who tried to make a Scotsman yield;
I'd rather see my blood to flow,
and lay Sir William Wallace in the snow.
WALLACE
You, sir?
BRUCE
I, sir.
WALLACE
Take out your sword and try, sir.
{They draw swords and engage with three strokes upward and
one downward. This is repeated till Bruce is slain with a stab
and lies down.}
GALOSHANS
Here comes I, Galoshans; Galoshans is my name,
With sword and pistol by my side, I hope to win the game.
WALLACE
The game, sir, the game, sir, is not within your power.
I'll cut your down in inches in less than half an hour.
GALOSHANS
You, sir.
WALLACE
I, sir.
GALOSHANS
Take out your sword and try, sir.
{Galoshans is killed and falls.}
JAKE
Here comes I, auld Jake Strae Straw Strum Striddle,
I'm that man that chased the devil
Through a rock, through a reel,
through an auld spinnin' wheel.
Through a bag of pepper, through a bag of saut,
Did ye ever see sic a man as that:
Auld Jake Strae Straw Strum Striddle.
{Jake makes for the door when he hears Beelzebub coming in.}
BEELZEBUB
Here comes I, Beelzebub, Over my shoulders I carry my club
In my hand a frying pan. I think myself a jolly man.
Here comes I, who never came yet, big head and little wit.
Though my head is so big and my body so small,
I do my best to please you all.
BLUE SAILOR
Here comes I, Blue Sailor, Blue Sailor from the sea.
With a bunch of blue ribbons tied under my knee.
A rose in my breast, a sword in my hand,
I'll fight any Frenchman that stands in the land.
{Blue Sailor gives Wallace the 'cujy' - a challenging shove with
the shoulder. They fight and Blue Sailor falls dead.}
UNCLE
Alas! Alas! What's this you've done?
You've killed my brother's only son:
Only son and only heir.
Do you see him lying bleeding there?
WALLACE
Yes, I see him lying bleeding there, his blood stream flowing round him.
There's no man in all Scotland could handle a broad sword like him.
HAIRY CAP
Here comes I, bold Hairy Cap, my buckles shine so bright,
Before I'd lose so many men, I draw my sword and fight.
{He is despatched by Wallace.}
JOHNNY FUNNY
Here comes I, wee Johnny Funny,
I'm the man that likes the money
Great big pooches doon tae ma knees,
fine for haudin' bawbees.
A penny or tippence 'll dae ye nae hairm.
Sixpence or a shillin' 'll no break your airm.
Ladies and gentlemen, you'll never grow fat,
if ye don't put a penny in my auld hat.
{Collection}
DR BROON
Here comes I, auld Dr Broon,
the best auld doctor in the toon.
I cured a man wi' a broken thoom,
sae whit dae ye think o' Dr Broon?
WALLACE
Say on, sir!
DR BROON
As I was going over the long bridge of Belfast,
and the short one of Derry,
I met my Auntie Pat.
She roars 'Pat',
I roars 'What?'
She took me up three stairs and down five.
She gave me a big bowl of broth
which took me three nights to get to the bottom of it.
WALLACE
Say on, sir.
DR BROON
The joint of a flea's leg. I broke it in two,
and put a half in one pocket and another in that.
Now the next day, as I was going over the same old bridge,
I met a big Newfoundland dog.
It came sniff, sniff, sniff,
till it sniffed one of the bones out of my pocket,
and then it ran.
It ran and ran over hitches and ditches near two hundred miles.
At last I catched him by the tail,
and swung him three times round my head.
He spit in my fist.
Do you feel the smell of it yet, sir?
WALLACE
Say on, sir.
DR BROON
Rise up all ye dead men, and sing a song.
|
Notes:
Indexers Notes:
Scanned from the transcript in:
B.Hayward (1992) Galoshins : The Scottish Folk Play. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1992, ISBN 07486 0338 7, pp.139-142.
Haywards Notes:
It has been suggested that the Irish element was added to this text in manuscript rather than in performance by an Irishman called Lorimer (1872-1954). The text is from a performance c.1883.
|
File History:
2002-02-22 - Scanned and Coded by Peter Millington
2021-01-15 - TEI-encoded by Peter Millington
|
Extras:
Dramaturgical Chart
Click on the image to view the chart full size.
The chart reveals the dramaturgical structure of the play by showing which speeches in the script are spoken which character. Vertical lines indicate stage directions.
TEI-encoded File
A TEI-encoded XML version of this text can be downloaded here.
Text Relatives Map
See how many of the lines in this text also appear in other plays:
- As a histogram sorted by the number of shared lines
- On a map with markers sized according to the number of shared lines
Other Information
There may be more about this text at:
https://folkplay.info/resources/texts-and-contexts/cumnock-play-c1883.
|
|
