#~sittin on yer mammies knee~

[m4gp13]

I love all the fun and really silly names we make up for Alabaster but I feel like the relative lack of Scots in this fandom is causing us to really miss out on gems like Ally Bally, Ally Bally Bee

[scotianostra]

On 18 November 1998 Robin Hall, the Scottish folk singer and musician, died.

Hall achieved national fame in the sixties along with fellow Scot, Jimmie Macgregor, on the BBC TV show, Tonight, they took over from Andy Stewart on the White Heather Club,Their hits included The Mingulay Boat Song the old favourite, Ye Cannae Shove Yer Grannie Aff a Bus and Fitba Crazy, the duo were the first real folk stars in Scotland, even before the Corries. Hall was a direct descendant of the famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor as well as of the explorer Mungo Park.

Hall quit the duo in 1981, he was never in great health, suffering from polio as a child and I have read he was a heavy drinker, this took it's toll on the tours they did. He went on to make some programmes on Radio Clyde. 

His second marriage had ended, and he had been living alone in Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow, where police found his body on 18 November. He appeared to have been dead for several days. I have searched for a cause of death but to no avail.

Second post where I mention memories of being a bairn, and I am sure you will all recall this song fondly, I wonder how many have heard the whole song! 

Ally bally, ally bally bee, Sittin' on your mammy's knee, Greetin' for a wee bawbee, Tae buy some Coulter's Candy. Livin's very hard the noo, Faither's idlin' on the bru, But your mammy's got a penny for you, Tae buy some Coulter's Candy. Ally bally, ally bally bee, Sittin' on your mammy's knee, Greetin' for a wee bawbee, Tae buy some Coulter's Candy. Peer wee sowl you're lookin' affa thin, A pickle o' banes covered ower wi' skin, Noo ye'll be gettin a wee double chin, Wi' sookin' Coulter's Candy. Ally bally, ally bally bee, Sittin' on your mammy's knee, Greetin' for a wee bawbee, Tae buy some Coulter's Candy. Aff tae bed ma bonny wee man Seevin o'clock an your playin's done When you rise in the mornin' sun You'll get some Coulter's Candy Ally bally, ally bally bee, Sittin' on your mammy's knee, Greetin' for a wee bawbee, Tae buy some Coulter's Candy.

[idriltelcontar]

“i want you to list five songs that are from your childhood. those songs that you always remember in your head that always bring back memories of being a kid.

and i’d like you to tag five people, to do the same. five and only five, keep it simple and spread the musical memories of your childhood with all of us.”

Thanks for the tag @edelweissroses! This was actually really tough!

1. Reach by S Club 7

Probably the first big pop group that drew my attention as a kid. This was THE song at school discos and I danced to it in a show once. I just love how upbeat and happy it is. The lyrics are really uplifting and I use it to teach something called ‘growth mindset’ to the kids in my class, encouraging them to never give up when things get rough.

2. Year 3000 by Busted

I was OBSESSED with Busted way back when. Still am tbh. I’ve seen them live three times. Twice AFTER they broke up. This is just one of those crazy silly songs that everyone of a certain age where I live knows. And I mean the ORIGINAL song with the ORIGINAL lyrics. Not that Jonas Brothers remake nonsense lol.

3. What Dreams Are Made Of by Hilary Duff

I absolutely adored the Lizzie McGuire movie when I was a kid and my sister and I used to rent it every week from Blockbuster (omg remember Blockbuster??) We had this scene on repeat for hours until we’d memorised the entire routine. SING TO ME PAOLO! Iconic.

4. What I’ve Done by Linkin Park

I discovered Linkin Park when I was about 13 and they’ve been my favourite band pretty much ever since. I could literally pick any of their songs for this list but this was the one which first introduced me to them. Used to listen to this album every night in bed with my Sony Walkman lol.

5. Ally Bally/Coulter’s Candy

A Scottish lullaby which my grandparents would sing to me. There’s a memorable home video of my sister and I singing it and fighting over it since I sang the second line as ‘sittin’ on yer daddy’s knee’ instead of ‘mammy’s knee’. She wasn’t pleased! We sung this song at school and got into a big debate as literally every family has their own different version of it. That’s just what I love about traditional folk songs. It’s an example of living culture.

I tag anyone who could bothered reading all of this and wants to do it! :)

[besidemethewholedamntime]

Sing Me A Song

A fluffy Fitzsimmons family fic set in the near future because I couldn’t help myself. I know I still have prompts to do, and I absolutely promise I’m in the process of writing them but I got stuck and this popped into my head. I hope you enjoy it! 

Read it on Ao3

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s alright.”

Fitz bounces with his six-month-old daughter, cradling her gently against his chest. His words fall on deaf ears, and his daughter continues to cry mournfully into his shirt. Teething has begun in recent days and has been hard on Sarah and both of her parents.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he soothes, but his voice doesn’t sound convincing even to his own ears. He holds Sarah away from his chest; her cheeks are flushed and her impossibly blue eyes are wide and melancholy. His heart breaks in a strange way for whenever she cries it cuts somewhere deep inside of him.

She’s only teething, he reminds himself. Everyone on the planet has gone through this and got through it, she’ll be fine. The rational, non-father part of himself knows this. It’s the other part that doesn’t; the part of him that’s a father and cannot stand seeing his daughter hurt.

Wearily, he cradles Sarah to his chest again, and sits down in the rocking chair usually used for feeding. It’s been a long few days ever since her teeth had began appearing. Nothing has seemed to help: not the teething rings or the teething gels or even the special baby painkillers bought for especially for this event. Sarah is as stubborn as both of her parents, utterly refusing to be settled or comforted by things that Fitz is sure normal children would be.

That’s what you get for having two parents who aren’t normal Fitz sighs. His daughter is the love of his life, apple of his eye and he would gladly die for her without a second’s hesitation. He adores her unique-ness that shows even at six months old; the way her eyes are infinite and seem to understand everything of what she sees, the way she smiles and the whole world gets brighter, the way she laughs like laughter has only just been discovered… but just for this one thing, Fitz thinks he wouldn’t mind if she was a little more… average.

(Except that this is just his tired brain and of course he doesn’t mean it – he wouldn’t change Sarah for all the world, crying fits over milk teeth and all.)

Rocking back and forth softly, Fitz begins to hum a tune that comes so naturally to his mind in this state. A song his granny and his mum used to sing to him when he was small, when he was crying so much that he should barely hear them over his hiccups.

To his own surprise, he even begins to sing.

Ally bally, ally bally bee, Sittin' on yer mammy's knee

Fitz isn’t even entirely sure how he’s remembered the words, it’s been so long since he’s heard them. Sarah’s sobs begin to quieten. He carries on:

Greetin' for a wee bawbee, Tae buy some Coulter's candy. 

Sarah’s cries are now only soft sniffles and he’s so amazed that four lines of a simple song his granny used to always sing have done what nothing else has been able to, that he doesn’t even hear Jemma come in until she says quietly:

“That was quite lovely. I haven’t heard you sing that song before.”

He grins up at her, happy to see her even though she’s only been working a few hours. “Didn’t even realise I’d remembered it.”

She comes over and kisses him a greeting, gently kissing her daughter also before sitting on the bed opposite him with a sigh that can only mean she’s had a hard time at work. Her smile, though tired, is still bright. Fitz could never tire of that smile.

“Where is it from?” Jemma asks in an almost-whisper.

He looks down to his chest and sees that Sarah’s eyes have begun to droop and her cheeks are no longer as flushed as they once were.

“Uh…” He thinks back on how he actually knows the song. “My granny used to sing it to me when I was younger. My mum too. I’d be crying til I was hiccupping and my granny would sit me on her knee and sing until I wasn’t crying anymore.” Looking down at his daughter, he smiles. “Must run in the family.”

Jemma’s eyes have taken on that soft look that comes with whenever they talk about his family. “That’s very sweet, Fitz. Your granny sounds adorable.”

“Aw yeah, she was the best. Looked after me a lot when I was young. My mum was working all the time, and before my dad left he was too,” He frowns, the mention of his father bringing a crease to his forehead. “I stayed with her a lot if mum was on night shift, and even if I wasn’t upset she’d always sing the song before I went to sleep.”

Now that he’s thinking about it, Fitz begins to remember a lot about those days when his mum was working all of the time and his dad never seemed to want him around, or his gran never wanted him around his dad he realises now. He remembers the way her house smelled like lavender and she always wore flower prints and always called him honey.

“When was the last time you saw her?” Jemma asks softly, reaching over to squeeze the hand that isn’t supporting their daughter.

“I don’t even know,” Fitz whispers. When did tears appear in his eyes? “Haven’t been back in so long. I don’t even know what’s happened to her, if she’s…” he swallows, unable to say it. “If her and my mum are okay. I haven’t even phoned in so long cause so much was going on and now I can’t.” Fitz breathes deeply but slowly, not wanting to disturb Sarah who has fallen asleep on his chest. He blinks back the tears in his eyes and looks down at her. “I wonder what they’d think of us.” He beams at Jemma. “What they’d think of her.”

“I’m sure they’d be so proud of you, Fitz,” Jemma whispers to him, fiercely but so full of love. “They’d be so proud to see the father you’ve become to our daughter.”

“Thanks, Jemma.” He loves her so much that it’s indescribable. And they have a daughter. Even after six months, he still hasn’t been able to get over the wonder of it all.

“As soon as we’re able we’ll go to Glasgow,” she says decisively.

“My granny would like that,” he says, deciding to be hopeful. “And mum, too.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll introduce them to Sarah and they’ll lover her just as much as we do.”

Fitz doesn’t think that anyone, apart from Jemma, could love his daughter as much as he does but he knows their love will come awfully close.

Sarah begins to stir against his chest, and soft mewling cries begin to emanate from her.

“Oh dear, are her teeth still giving her a hassle?” Jemma asks, her features rearranging into a look of worry.

“Yeah.” Fitz begins rocking gently once more. “She’s really not getting a break with it.”

“Perhaps your magical singing will help, Fitz,” Jemma teases. “It did work last time.”

He rolls his eyes but takes no notice and begins the song from the beginning. There are other verses, he’s sure, but his granny never sung them to him. She always only sang these lines, and it was always enough.

Ally bally, ally bally bee,

Almost at once, Sarah begins to quieten again.

“Well would you look at that,” Jemma comments, marvelled. “Our daughter must be the only person who does like your singing.”

Sittin' on yer mammy's knee

“At least my musical talents are appreciated by somebody,” he faux-grumbles.

Greetin' for a wee bawbee

He thinks of his granny and what she would say if she saw him here with his wife and daughter now. He thinks that she’d be over them moon, happy with how it’s all turned out. Fitz knows that he is, that he wouldn’t change any of it for anything.

Tae buy some Coulter's candy. 

[scotianostra]

Coulter's Candy

by Robert Coltart  (1832 - 1880)

Ally, bally, ally bally bee, Sittin on yer mammy's knee Greetin for anither bawbee Tae buy mair Coulter's candy

Ally, bally, ally, bally bee When you grow up you’ll go to sea Makin pennies for your daddy and me Tae buy mair Coulter’s Candy

Mammy gie me ma thrifty doon Here’s auld Coulter comin roon Wi a basket on his croon Selling Coulter’s Candy

Little Annie’s greetin tae Sae whit can puir wee Mammy dae But gie them a penny atween them twae Tae buy mair Coulter’s Candy

Poor wee Jeannie’s looking affa thin A rickle o banes covered ower wi skin Noo she’s getting a double chin Wi sookin Coulter’s Candy.

"Coulter's Candy", also known as "Ally Bally" or "Ally Bally Bee", is a  folk song written by a former Galashiels weaver, Robert Coultart (sometimes Coltart, Coltard) (1832–1880).

The song was an advertising jingle for the aniseed-flavoured sweets that he manufactured in Melrose and sold around the markets of the Border towns. The recipe is no longer known, but the song lived on.

In 1958 a letter to The Weekly Scotsman reported that a man remembered hearing it from his grandmother, who in turn had learned the song in around 1845. It was collected in a children's playground in 1964 by James T. Ritche, who published it in a book called The Singing Street.

However, Norman Buchan published it earlier in 101 Scottish Songs, Collins, 1962. He states there: "This song probably produced more correspondence than any other when I printed it in 'The Weekly Scotsman' a few years ago. Robert Coultart - the 'Coulter' of the song - made and sold his own candy round all the country fairs and markets in the Borders... etc. I first heard it from Scots actor, playwright and folk singer Roddy McMillan." He also added one of the verses.

The sweeties in the pic are a modern manifestation