> Folk Music > Songs > Hallowe’en
Hallowe’en
[ Roud - ; Violet Jacob, Jim Reid]
Violet Jacob (1863-1946) wrote the poem Hallowe’en after the death of her son at the Battle of the Somme. It is printed in her book Bonnie Joann, and Other Poems, London: John Murray, 1921.
Jean Redpath sang Hallowe’en on her 1990 album Leaving the Land.
Jim Reid set Hallowe’en to music; he recorded it in 1996 for his album The Better o’ a Sang.
Sangsters sang Hallowe’en in 2000 on their Greentrax CD Sharp and Sweet.
Sheena Wellington and Karine Polwart sang Hallowe’en at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in January 2001 as part of the Celtic Connections festival. The concert recording was released a year later on the Greentrax festival CD Scots Women.
Hector Gilchrist sang Hallowe’en in 2007 on his WildGoose CD Ingleneuk. He noted:
Violet Jacob wrote many fine poems in the local vernacular of the Mearns of Fife, although amazingly, it was not her natural tongue. This is a tale of remembrance on Hallows eve, by a ploughman, whose comrade, The “Heid” horseman, has been lost in the trenches and a new one, has placed his clothes kist next to the fire. It prompts us I think, to take the time to read the lists on the village war memorials, when passing by.
Jim Reid’s tune captures the mood perfectly, as does Jonny [Dyer]’s sensitive piano accompaniment.
Lucy Pringle & Chris Wright sang Hallowe’en on their 2010 CD The Speaking Heart. They noted:
This moving song of loss and remembrance was originally a poem by Violet Jacob (1863- 1946); she had lost her only son at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Both this poem and Jacob’s much-loved Wild Geese were skillfully set to music by the late Jim Reid, a man of very special talent.
Jim Malcolm sang Hallowe’en on his 2014 album The Corncrake. He noted:
Violet Jacob wrote this poem in remembrance of her only son, who was killed on Hallowe’en 2016 at the Somme on the Western Front in the First World War. My musical hero Jim Reid’s melody is the perfect match for Jacob’s beautiful Scots language.
Hannah Rarity learned Hallowe’en from Fiona Hunter, and sang it on her 2018 CD Neath the Gloaming Star.
Christine Kydd sang Hallowe’en in 2019 on her Greentrax album of songs from Scotland, Shift and Change. She noted:
I recorded this on Halloween. We “set the tape running” for this wonderful Violet Jacob poem set to music by Jim Reid of Angus. Violet Jacob’s only son, Harry, perished on the Somme in the summer of 1916 in WW I. A personal expression of loss, it is also a powerful reminder of the huge loss to families and communities in all countries during the First World War. Most of us yet have personal or family stories of loss to the wars of the 20th century. I never knew my great uncle, who died at the age of 33 while serving with the Black Watch in July 1918 in Meteren. My grandmother, his sister, lived well into her eighties. Gie’s Peace.
Steve Byrne sang Hallowe’en in 2023 on the album of Scottish pipers playing smallpipes made by Hamish and Fin Moore, The Piper and the Maker II.
Lyrics
Violet Jacob’s poem Hallowe’en
The tattie-liftin’s nearly through,
They’re ploughin’ whaur the barley grew,
And aifter dark, roond ilka stack,
Ye’ll see the horsemen stand an’ crack
O Lachlan, but I mind o’ you!
I mind foo often we hae seen
Ten thoosand stars keek doon atween
The nakit branches, an’ below
Baith fairm an’ bothie hae their show,
Alowe wi’ lichts o’ Hallowe’en.
There’s bairns wi’ guizards at their tail
Cloorin’ the doors wi’ runts o’ kail,
And fine ye’ll hear the screichs an’ skirls
O’ lassies wi’ their droukit curls
Bobbin’ for aipples i’ the pail.
The bothie fire is loupin’ het,
A new heid horseman’s kist is set
Richt’s o’ the lum; whaur by the blaze
The auld ane stude that kept yer claes—
I canna thole to see it yet!
But gin the auld fowks’ tales are richt
An ghaists come hame on Hallow nicht,
O freend o’ friends! what wad I gie
To feel ye rax yer hand to me
Atween the dark an’ caun’le licht?
Awa’ in France, across the wave,
The wee lichts burn on ilka grave,
An’ you an’ me their lowe hae seen—
Ye’ll mebbe hae yer Hallowe’en
Yont, whaur ye’re lyin’ wi’ the lave.
There’s drink an’ daffin’, sang an’ dance
And ploys and kisses get their chance,
But Lachlan, man, the place I see
Is whaur the auld kist used tae be
And the lichts o’ Hallowe’en in France!
Hannah Rarity sings Hallowe’en
The tattie-liftin’s nearly through,
They’re plooin’ whaur the barley grew
And efter dark roond ilka stack
You’ll see the horsemen stand and crack
O Lachlan, but I mind on you
I mind fu’ aften we hae seen
Ten thoosand stars keek doon atween
The naked branches, and below
Baith fairm and bothy hae their show
A-low wi’ lichts o’ Hallowe’en
There’s bairns wi’ guizards at their tails
Cloorin’ the doors wi’ runts o’ kail
And aye you’ll hear the screechs an’ skirls
O’ lassies wi’ their droukit curls
Bobbin’ for aipples i’ the pail
The bothy fire is loupin’ heat
A new heid-horseman’s kist is set
Richt o’er the lum whaur by the blaze
The auld yin stood that kept yer claes
I canna thole tae see it yet
But gin the auld folks’ tales are richt
An’ ghaists cam hame on Hallow’s nicht
Oh freend, oh freends, what would I gie
Tae feel ye rax yer hand tae me
Atween the dark an’ caun’le licht
Awa’ in France across the wave
The wee lichts burn on ilka grave
An’ you an’ me their lowes hae seen
Ye’ll maybe hae yer Hallowe’en
Yont whaur you’re lyin’ way the lave
There’s drink an’ daff an’ sang an’ dance
An’ ploys an’ kisses get their chance
But Lachlan, man, the place I see
Is whaur the auld kist used tae be
An’ the lichts o’ Hallowe’en in France