Liner notes to "John Strachan: Songs From Aberdeenshire"
Introduction by Ewan McVicar.
John Strachan was born at Crichie - farm where he lived most of his life
(and where he died) - in 1875. Crichie is about three miles south of Fyvie,
and twenty-three miles north-west of Aberdeen: it lies in the midst of a
great tract of rich farming country. In 1868 John's father, who had made
a large amount of money through horsedealing, rented Crichie from Lord
Aberdeen. The family which had previously farmed Crichie for many years
were the williamsons (by-named the "stately Williamsons"); these were
- according to John - "a' big men", and great cattle-dealerd who in
the old days had walked their herds down from the Muir of Ord to the
Falkirk Tryst. However, the formidable family of Williamsons 'ran to daughters',
and Trachans moved into their territory. The vehicle of social mobility,
which had earlier been cattle-trading, had thus become - for the Strachans,
at any rate - the horse-trade.
John attributed his father's financial success to the Franco-Prussian
war, fought five years before he was born.
"I think", he wrote in a notebook, "I am about the only one left that
would know about the horse trade. I think the French and the Germans were
both here buying horses before the war commenced, and little bits of mares
were making £100 freely". Yet the day of the "twal ousen plough"
was not long in the past in the North-East, when John was born. In the same
notebook he wrote: "At a literary Society meeting at Tarves I heard this Mr.
Mackie give a lecture; I don't remember what it was about, but he told us he
was once a goadsman at Collnye, that is, the man or boy who carried a long
stick with a sharp point, and gave any of the twelve oxen a prod when not
doing their share of the work. there were very few horses at the time, he
said."
About 1888, John's father rented another farm from Lord Aberdeen - this was
Craigies, in the parish of Tarves.
The family went to Craigies, leaving my brother, who was fifteen to sixteen
years old, to carry on the work, and a sister to keep house for him....
... It will be seen that when John Strachan was writing notes for lectures
(e.g. for the Turriff Agricultural Association, of which he was at one time
President), he wrote a careful Gordon's College scholar's English, but when
he spoke, it was in the raciest of North-East Doric. ....
Several of John's favourite songs - such as "The Laird o' Drum" (Child No 236)
and "The Forfar Sodger" - were heard in early childhood from the servants
on his father's farm, but quite a few he got from his mother, a native of
Pitglassie, Aucterless, who was musical and taught her boys to sing. The boys
got dancing lessons from one of the foremost local instructors, Forbes
Morrison ("Dancie" Morrison). John used to recall the mock-rueful amusement
how, when visitors were paying social calls, he and his brother would be
summoned to the parlour to dance the highland fling for them, while their
mother played the piano......
John's frequent visits to markets, ploughing matches and feeing fairs gave
him plenty of opportunity to make and maintain contact with singers.
Consequently, when James Madison Carpenter arrived in Aberdeenshire in 1930
to record its folk-song on wax cylinders, John was able to give him
valuable assistance...
In December 1935 when John was sixty, two events took place which remained
red-letter days in his memory. The first was a radio program, "The Farm Year",
which was broadcast live from Crichie; the script was by J.R. Allan and the
producer was Moultrie R Kelsall, the Aberdeen station director. According to
all accounts, this program must have been a rare spree for all participants.
It embraced all seasons of the farm year, from ploughing and spring sowing
to the reaping, stacking and binding at 'hairstin' time', and genuine sound
effects were provided by implements and animals. ...
Several local characters - well-known to listeners to Aberdeen radio - were
naturally invited to take part, including Willie Kemp, the "cornkister",
who featured in the bothy scene, dunting his "tackety boots" on the
cornkist and joining in, while John Mearns sang "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie".
...
John's second experience of a lifetime came a week later, when he was invited
to contribute to the Christmas day radio programme which included King
George V's speech. John came on the air in a worldwide link-up just after
a family in Ottawa had spoken, and he sent greetings to a farmer in South
Africa.
Last updated on 02/02/2011