.
.
Will
Fyffe, the character comedian, was passing through Glasgow's Central
Station when a wee Glasgow man who had over-imbibed attracted his
attention at the ticket barrier. "Where
do you come from?" Will asked him. The happy drunk beamed all
over, emitted a couple of happy hiccups, and replied: "At this
very moment, sir... at this very moment I belong tae Glasgow."
Slight pause, then: "Aye, an' know something, sir. Glasgow
belongs tae me!" The words echoed in Fyffe's head. That night, in
his theatrical digs, he worked on the song and added suitable patter. The resultant song "I Belong to Glasgow"
Now a famous Glasgow song known & sung the whole world
over...belt it oot!
I BELONG TO GLASGOW
I've been wi' a few o' mah cronies, one or two pals o'
my ain;
We went in a hotel, and we did very well,
And then we came oot once again;
Then we went into anither, and that is the reason I'm fu';
We had six deoch-an-doruses, then sang a chorus,
Just listen....I'll sing it to you:
I belang tae Glesga, dear old Glesga toon;
But what's the matter wi' Glesga, for it's goin' roun' and roun'!
I'm only a common old working chap, as anyone here can see,
But when I get a couple o' drinks on a Setterday,
Glesga belangs tae me!!!!!
.
There’s nothing in bein' teetotal, an savin a shillin or two
If
your money you spend, you’ve nothing to lend
Isn’t
that all the better for you.
Noo there’s nay harm in takin a drappie,
It saves all your trouble an
strife
It
gives you the feeling, that when you get hame
You
don’t give a hang (damm) for the wife.
.
Cheers!
fae the webmaister
Will Fyffe, wrote the words, recorded it and
first
sang it in The Pavilion Theatre Glasgow
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At the opening of the Glasgow Garden Festival in
1988, Prince Charles,
with apologies for his lack of Glasgow
accent, quoted from a song by
Scots folk singer Adam McNaughton:-
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"Oh where is the Glasgow where I used to stay,
with white wally closes,
done up with pipe clay. Where you knew all your neighbours
from first floor to third and keeping your door locked was considered
absurd"
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.

Oh where is the Glasgow
( Adam
McNaughton )
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Oh where is the Glasgow where I used to stay
The white wally closes, done up wi' pipeclay
Where you knew every neighbour fae 1st floor tae 3rd
And tae keep yer door locked was considered absurd
Dae ye ken the folk who stay upstairs fae you?
.
Oh,
where is the wean that wance played in the street
Wi' a jaurie, a peerie, a gird wi' a cleat?
Can he still cadge a hudgie or dreep aff a dyke
Or is writin' on wa's noo the wan gemme he likes -
Can he tell chickie mellie fae hunch-cuddie-hunch?
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.
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Oh,
where is the wee shop where I used tae buy
A quarter o' tatties, a tuppeny pie,
A bag o' broke biscuits an' three soda scones
And the wumman aye asked "How's yer maw gettin' oan?"
Can yer big supermarket compete wi'a' that?
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.
Oh,
where is the chip shop that I knew sae well
The wee corner cafe, where they used tae sell
Hot pies and brey and McCallums and pokes
And ye knew they were 'Tallys' the minute they spoke -
"Day ye wanta da raspberry owre yer ice-a-da-cream?"
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.
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Oh,
where is the tramcar that wance did a ton
Up the London Road on the old Brigton run #
The conductress aye knew how tae deal wi' a nyaff
"If yer gaun, then get oan - if yer no' then get aff!"
Are there ony like her on the buses the day
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.
Oh,
where is the Glesga that I used tae know
Big Wullie, Wee Shooie, the steamie the Co.
The shilpit wee bachle, the glaikit big deep
The ba' on the slates and yer gas at a peep -
If ye scrape the veneer aff.....
..............are these things still there?
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..
A
great wee song eh...?
.
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(# ( Original line is : Up the Great Western Road on the old Yoker
run.)
webmaisters poetic license !
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.
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(
Adam McNaughton was a pupil of John St
Secondary School, became a teacher then songwriter. He has written some
wonderful classic Scottish songs.... Jeely Piece Song, Yellow
on the Broom..... to name but a few )
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..
I
was sent a copy of this song by a Glesga Pal which had additional verses,
I don't know if these are part of the original song or not.
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I
think o' the days o' my tenement hame
We've got fancy hooses but they're no jist the same
I'll swap your gisunders,flyovers and jams
for a tuppenny ride on the old Glesga trams
.
Gone
is the Glasgow that I used to know
Big Wullie, wee Shooie, the steamie the Co
the Shilpit wee bachle, the glaikit big dreep
Yer baws on the slates and yer gas at a peep
These days werny rosy and money was tight
The wages hauf finished by Saturday night
But still we came through it and weathered the ruts
and the reason is simple... oor parents had guts.
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.
April 2007, Norrie Porter, Shrewsbury |
.........Just for the sake of completeness, I
thought I would drop you a line to say that it's actually a
song, by Jim McLean - not the same guy who is gigging now, I
don't think. Iain Mackintosh use to sing it, too, and recorded
it on his album Encore. He used to introduce it by saying that
it was written in response to MacNaughtan's "Where is the
Glasgow" but without the sentimentality. Iain's words were:--
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Farewell
to Glasgow
Oh where is the Glasgow I used to know
The tenement buildings that let in the snow
Through the cracks in the plaster the cold wind did blow
And the water we washed in was forty below
We read by the gaslight, we had nae T.V.
Hot porridge for breakfast, cold porridge for tea
And some weans had ricketts, and some had T.B.
Ay that's what the Glasgow of old means tae me
Noo the neighbours complained if we played wi' a ba'
Or 'Hunch cuddy hunch' against somebody's wa'
If we played 'Kick the can' we'd tae watch for the law
For the polis made sure we did sweet bugger a'
You've heard o' the closet that stood on the
stair
Oors had tae accommodate fifteen or mair
And the wee broken windae let in the fresh air
I sometimes went inside, ay but just for a dare
And we huddled together tae keep warm in bed
We'd nae sheets nor blankets, just old coats instead
And a big balaclava tae cover yer head
And 'God but it's cold' was the only prayer said
Noo there's some say that tenement living was
swell
That's the wally close toffs who had doors wi' a bell
Two rooms and a kitchen and a bathroom as well
While the rest o' us lived in a single-end hell
So wipe off that smile when you talk o' the
days
That you lived in the Gorbals or Dalmarnock' way
Remember the mice and the rats you once chased
For tenement living was a bloody disgrace
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