Dundee Street Songs, Rhymes and Games

In 1952 when these songs and rhymes were recorded in Hilltown, Dundee there may not have been a street or playground anywhere where the sound of children singing and playing was not part of everyday life. Although there had been Scottish collectors of 'bairn sangs' since the 1820s, it was not until the 1940s that anyone in Scotland audio-recorded the actual sound of playground voices. The voices of these school children captured the vitality of the local dialect, the spontaneity of their language-use outside the classroom, their repertoire of songs, rhymes and games, their musicality, as well as the sounds that echo the speed and accuracy of their hand-eye coordination. The Audio of The William Montgomerie Collection, 1952 can be obtained directly from GRACE NOTE PUBLICATIONS.

William Montgomerie (1904-1994) was born and brought up in Glasgow. He became a teacher and moved to Dundee, where he met and married Norah Shargool (1909-1998), an artist with D.C. Thomson. They shared a passion for the Scots language and folklore and began collecting children's rhymes, songs and games in the 1930s. Their first book was published in 1946 and together they produced over a dozen books.

William (Bill) was also a renowned poet, song collector and ballad scholar and as he wanted to capture the sound of the voice, in the mid-1940s he began to use a wire-recorder to audio-record singers. After collaborating with Alan Lomax on his 1951 tour of Scotland, Bill bought a tape-recorder and in 1952 recorded children in the Hilltown, Dundee. Though the recordings were made almost seventy years ago they are of remarkable quality and the 47 tracks have lost none of the vitality of the sound of children's voces, singing, chanting, laughing and playing in the street.

Folklorist and singer Margaret Bennett got to know the Montgomeries in the mid-1980s when she was on the staff of the School of Scottish Studies. She often visited them, and in 1993 she tape-recorded an interview in which they talked about their lives and their interest in folklore. Norah told Margaret they had hoped to issue a cassette of the recordings so that people could hear the actual sound of the children, but (disappointingly) the publisher decided to record well-known actors for the production. Though Bill had deposited the original tapes in the Archive of the School of Scottish Studies, he gave Margaret a cassette copy of his recordings - a reminder not just of the songs themselves and of Bill's work, but also of the importance of listening to the sound of the voice, the language, and the sheer joy of singing. Now digitised by the School of Scottish Studies, this is the first time any of Montgomerie's recordings have been published.

In the book, Margaret gives an insight into a century of audio recording as well as Bill Montgomerie's pioneering role in recording Scottish traditions. There is a transcription 47 audio-track followed by annotated notes on each item and concludes with a detailed bibliography. The book is intended for all ages, and (without a word of jargon) is also a scholarly production suitable for those who are curious to find out more. The illustrations are by Fife-based artist Les McConnell who remembers the playground games of the Fifties, as he brings to life the carefree joy of children playing and singing in the street.
BOOK PRIZE
The prestigious Iona and Peter Opie Prize for Children's Folklore 2022 has been awarded to Scottish folklorist Margaret Bennett (Professor, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), for the book, illustrated by Les McConnell (Grace Note Publications 2021). The prize was announced at the annual conference of the American Folklore Society, Oct. 2022.