Scotlandsmusic

Written by George Scroggie in the 1800's , this song tells us a lot about the livesof the men and women in the North East of Scotland for whom the dangers of the whaling life and the whaling trade were all too familiar.The placenamesmentioned are inland in the Fraserburgh area, the coast around there and Peterhead, being famous for fishing and whaling.

Fareweel Tae Tarwathie
Fareweel tae Tarwathie, adieu Mormond Hill,
And the dear land o’ Crimond I bid ye fareweel,
I’m bound out for Greenland and ready to sail,
In hopes to find riches in hunting the whale.

Adieu to my comrades, for a while we must pairt,
And likewise the dear lass wha fair won my hairt;
The cold ice of Greenland my love will not chill,
An the longer my absence, more loving she’ll feel.

Our ship is weel rigged an she’s ready to sail,
Our crew they are anxious to follow the whale;
Where the icebergs do float and the stormy winds blaw,
Where the land and the ocean is covered wi’ snaw.

The cold coast of Greenland is barren and bare,
No seed time nor harvest is ever known there;
And the birds here sing sweetly on mountain and dale,
But there isna a birdie to sing to the whale.

There is no habitation for a man to live there,
And the king of that country is the fierce Greenland bear;
An there’ll be no temptation to tarry lang there,
Wi’ our ship bumper full we will homeward repair.