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Cauld Blaws the Wind Ower the Knock and the Bin

[ Roud 16134 ; G/D 81925 ; Ballad Index GrD81925 ; trad.]

Shona Donaldson sang Cauld Blaws the Wind Ower the Knock and the Bin in 2010 on her Deveron Projects album Short Nichts and Lang Kisses. She noted:

A tuneless text from The Greig-Duncan Collection inspired me to write a simple melody but with a ‘dark’ piano accompaniment. I chose to write a simple melody, with a large proportion of grace notes to convey the desperation and distress in the husband’s voice. The piano tends to be quite discordant in addition to this. The words struck me initially and as I was pondering on what to do with the melody the piano part seemed to pour out and the tune quickly followed.

The Spiers Family sang The Knock and the Bin on their 2012 album Oh, Gin I Were There….

Lyrics

Shona Donaldson sings Cauld Blaws the Wind Ower the Knock and the Bin

Cauld blaws the wind o’er the Knock and the Bin
And a’ the earth is asleep in its blanket o’ snaw.
I aince hid a hame I could aye ca’ my ain,
But the laird and the factor hae turned me awa.

My wife she grat sair and it whitened her hair,
When forced fae the land we hid laboured sae lang.
But her soul is at rest in the land o’ the blessed
And her body maun lie far the richest maun gang.