Annotation:Jockey Drucken Babble

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JOCKEY DRUCKEN BABBLE. Scottish, Air. From the Skene Collection c. 1615, collected by or for John Skene of Hallyards in Midlothian, set in tablature for the mandora. "Perhaps it is a wry comment by one of the jockeys on the way their ancient learning was disregarded. The word 'jockey' is a corruption of 'joculator', a type of travelling minstrel. They are described in this manuscript extract (quoted by Dauney) from 'Reliquae Divi Andeae', by one Martine, secretary to the Archbishop of St. Andrews, Archbishop Sharpe, in the latter part of the 17th century: 'The bards at length degenerated in degrees into common ballad makers for they gave themselves up to the making of mystical rhymes and to magic and necromancy. To our fathers' times and to ours something remained of this ancient order and they are called by others and by themselves as 'jockies' who go about begging and use still to recite the sluggornes of most of the true ancient surnames of Scotland; from old experience and observation, some of them I have discoursed and found to have reason and discretion. One of them told me there were not above twelve of them in the whole isle but he remembered the time when they abounded so as at one time he was one of five that usuallie met at St. Andrews.' (Williamson)."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources: Flying Fish FF358, Robin Williamson - "Legacy of the Scottish Harpers."

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