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Lasses Trust In Providence

by Claire White with Robbie Leask

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Compact Disc in a plastic-free cardboard case with an accompanying 20-page booklet. Stunning Shetland landscape photography forms the backdrop to written stories behind all thirteen tracks, and a glossary of over 300 Shetland words helps with lyric translation.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Lasses Trust In Providence via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      £10 GBP or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £8 GBP  or more

     

1.
Du felled neebor fock wi seekness Wir baess dey lost der life  A ston du lowsed aneeth a man Dan saved him for his wife Du took awa da profit Fae bere an milk an kye Udders filled wi blöd an water Göd malt wis marred forby Da curses rain, da charges fly Dat you, rank witch, cannot deny Da curses rain, da charges fly Dat you, rank witch, cannot deny Du cast madness on dy servant Becis shö widna bide She drew blöd fae your twa fingers An eence again cam richt Du killed able working horses Kept corbie company Consortit wi anidder witch Shunned God fir aa ta see Dy taste for wicked witchcraft At last sealed dy demise Fir a fishing boat du capsized A neesick dy disguise Du droondit four aboard her Ee flat calm Hillsook day Dy man an dee wis brocht ta see Der wis a price ta pay Dy haands wis placed on twa dry crangs A craig-bane bled ageen Fae anidder’s finger blöd gushed Göd’s judgement it wis seen Dy guilt wis worthy o dy death  In 1644 Apo da Berry wast hill Du wis strangled dat voar Dy burnin freed wis o dy curse Dy evil tongue an eye Göd’s justice done, da Deil slain Nae mair sal du deny Göd’s justice done, da Deil slain Nae mair sal du deny
2.
Tim-tim-ta ra-a, tim-tim-ta-ree Da treed is snöddin trowe da ee An tim-tim-ta ree-e, an tim-tim-ta raa Da wap-towe haes a boannie caa Tim-tim-ta ra-a, tim-tim-ta-ree Da pirm is bookin i’da flee An tim-tim-ta ree-e, an tim-tim-ta raa Du’s gyaain fae me, du’s gyaain awa Tim-tim-ta ra-a, tim-tim-ta-ree An twine da boannie treed wi me An tim-tim-ta ree-e, an tim-tim-ta raa Da sweerie foo is gotten aa
3.
Da Hennie 03:01
Thursday nights ir diamonds A jewel atae wir weeks A dram, an supper too A time ta gaff an sheeks For sixty years wir met Wis six, an idders tö Eight o clock’s da keek aff O t ree oors o "whit’s new?" If we need, we shout 
If we need, we shout
 We pit wir heids tagedder 
An we work it out Da Hennie’s foo wir kent We gadder turn aboot Birthdays an Christmas Is whan we aa geng oot In 1960 Fae bairns we took wir aese Wir makkin it cam too Fir dan wis leaner days Wir faced life tagedder Weddings, births an grief Spaekin aathing trowe bar Politics an belief Work at da phone exchange In offices forby In taxis an textiles Wis foo we med wir wye Lerwick life his altered Fae early hennie days Oil wealth brocht changes New rods, new maet, new claes Helly buses Geed fae da Market Cross But taxis shön took owre An memories wis wir loss Sixty years o freendship Whit is dat really wirt? Yis, it’s disagreements But n’er an ackwart wird An wir bairns noo Haes a hennie tö Da acht o wir meetins Biggin lives anew
4.
The Shetland Bus headquarters They set our five day course Nine hundred miles to Tromsø The Brattholm would traverse A cargo of explosives To damage German stores In ’43 was loaded On Scalloway’s fair shores Hands across the hills and Hearts across the sea Through ice and wind and weather Our spirits they soar free March 28th we landed In Toftefjord’s snug bay A merchant he betrayed us A warship sailed our way Our fuse it was ignited The Brattholm was no more All twelve desperate seamen Swam through the ice to shoreS Behind beach rocks I cowered And shot my hunters low To Sweden then my sights turned Through eighty miles of snow A toe lost to a bullet I fled one hundred then Alone I faced the journey Mourning now my menS On stepping stones of kindness I painfully edged south A host of nameless heroes Brought help by word of mouth Snow-blind, frostbit and wounded A month in snowdrift bound Five days lost in an avalanche Was where my strength I found Pursued up to the border Then saved by reindeer sled Recovery took ten weeks Confined throughout to bed Escape was tinged with sadness Sweet liberty at last But Norway’s freedom beckoned And friendships have held fast
5.
Da boatie sails an da boatie rowes Dey set dir sails an dey hail dir tows Hush-a-baa-baa, me peerie lamb De faider is comin awa fae fram Da sheep dey baa, an da craas dey craa Dey flap dir wings an dey flee awa Hush-a-baa-baa, me peerie flee Aald Da’ll be comin wi shalls ta dee Da burnie rins an da burnie rowes Da lambs dey dance ower da hedder-kowes Hush-a-baa-baa, me treasure dear Dey’ll naebody hurt dee whin Mam is near Da laverick lifts an he sings ta aa Da winter comes wi da caald an snaa Hush-a-baa-baa, me peerie flooer Lang Willie is löin ahint da door Da mares dey böl an da kye comes hame We lay wis doon ida Gödie’s name Hush-a-baa-baa, me peerie ting He covers wis aa wi His holy wing
6.
In wir shed o dreams it’s Foo bricht we shine wir licht Mair life I’m niver seen Athin ee peerie place As in dy shed dis hairst An in dy sonsie face "Jeanette Nowak shö bides In Nort-a-Voe” dey’d tell On axin fir Peanuts Whan stravaigin trowe Yell Sun ida window An in dy glansin een A coose o creations Da rarest I hed seen Beetroot laeves lay dryin Firnenst sea gless an lem Hingin bowes an baskets Skoitin neest a ring Dy seaborne proil sat prunk In reason an in rhyme Frida Kahlo chaise longue A place for tinkin time Fashion lasses fun dee Here in dy lichtsome state Reddin up afore dem Aboot ta change dy gaet A basket clippit up Balled doon apo da flör Dichted an laid up noo Wis art, no bruck, no more Wid du tak a hunder? Dy babe wis no for sale So dey med a froak for Der London fashion rail A blink o city life Wis dine for joost a start But hame wis shön pooin At treeds aboot dy heart For du kens mair as maist Whit is really wirt wir might In wir shed o dreams it’s Foo bricht we shine wir licht In wir shed o dreams it’s Foo bricht we shine wir licht
7.
My father Ketil Flatnose From Raumsdal he fled Escaping Harald Finehair A king we’d come to dread The Hebrides called hersirs To Scotland’s kinder land From these isles we sailed forth A-Viking to expand Hold, hold
 Steadfast, resolute
 Hold, hold
 Destiny refute The quest to conquer Ireland Was fought by love and raid Olaf the White I married A Dublin Queen was made A son, Thorstein, we nurtured Before my man was slayed For Irish king tomb raiding With Olaf’s life we paid The Hebrides our refuge Thorstein the Red and me Grandson he met grandfather Learned campaigns at his knee North Scotland Thorstein conquered He wed and brought forth young Scots treachery then claimed him And Ketil too was gone This left me now defenceless With rancour all around Lost mother, orphan, widow A daring plan I found A ship was built in Caithness Concealed by forest shade The knarr was bound for Iceland Strategic stops we made With kin and slaves and free men An Orkney trip I led The first of my granddaughters A Scottish chief she wed Then on we sailed to Faroe And married one more girl Before wild Iceland beckoned My fate at last to thirl My crew of twenty members Gained liberty and land Dales then I claimed for me As home, my final hand With youngest grandchild married My life’s work it was done The wedding feast, my funeral In death and life I’d won
8.
I sit apo my creepie An spin apo my wheel An tink apo da boannie lad At laeks me sae weel Singin hey tweedle tweedle Singin how tweedle twee Da boannie roond rim An da bricht sheenin ee Singin hey tweedle tweedle Singin how tweedle twee Da boannie roond rim An da bricht sheenin ee My Johnie is boannie He’s geen ta da sea He’ll come back wi money Atween him an me A stör i my pocket An siller i my pooch An gold i my kyist nyook A’ll no want for much Nae mair A’ll hae rivlins Ta platch ower da lea Bit göd ledder böts Laced up ta my knee A’ll no hae a slug Or an aald ringlit cot Bit a göd sylk goon An a boannie breest-knot A’ll link in his airm An we’ll geng ta da kirk In voar at da dellin A’ll no need ta wirk Sae haste dee, my Johnie Come hame fae da sea Come hame wi dy money Atween dee an me
9.
We med fir Lerwick Wi hope in wir hearts In 1839 Makkin an spinnin Weavin an fishin Lives dat suited wis fine Saint Martin watch owre 
My tings o bairns
 Shap up dy cloak for dem Athin joost ee year We lost James at sea Dan Magnus, less a less Peerie Kirstie cam A skurtfoo o care Tae maet, tae house, tae dress Some bits o bairns’ claes I took fae back greens Served time atae da Fort Dan made an appeal For Poor Law relief An won da case in coort Tree bairns to feed Thrown oot o Church Lane A stairhead mattress bed Dan tae da toon hoose Wir hidmost address Whaar life left me for dead Tak tent my bairns Spaek up an be strong An ken I love you yet Stengle your soul wi Kindness an mind Da giein haand’ll aye git
10.
I mind it joost lik yesterday Da saat spray is still veeve We lippened blashy wadder But no da sea to heave An bal wis fae ee aert tae next In 1886 Dan nor-aest on an uncan coorse Driftin fae Scatness Driftin, we’re aye driftin We fin meids back an fore
 An if göd fortune favours wis 
We land apo da shore Athin no time I wis mesel Columbine’s sol lodd As skipper, mate an deckhand Were aa taen overboard Nine days, eight nichts, me löf-alenn No blinndin on da gaet   Twa biscuit an a jar o mylk Me only faerdie-maet Da makkin I’d taen nort tae sell I traded in for rop Eence nimble fingers noo I used Ta hadd my body up Til in a gale I ran agrund On Norway’s Lepsøy Isle An winnin safely back ashore Felt lik me langest mile In Norway first I kyuckered up Dan Edinburgh for care Whaar wimmen cam tae hear me tale An tak a strand o hair   Dan tree weeks on I med for hom Dis time apo da Clair Da croods I’d come ta lippen noo Were shön ta be nae mair For back I göd ta work da laand Da monarch’s twenty pound Da only mindin o me vaege An how I ran agrund Tinkin noo at ninety two Back thirty year fae syne Life’s rod his mony twists an turns Da journey, it is dine
11.
Aged nine in Stove in Waas A fiddle first I played Soldier’s Joy an Hen’s Mairch Da early tunes I med Clementina’s fiddle Wis cut fae board an treed Seaman Faider’s playing Wis aa da help we’d need So on turning eighteen In eighteen ninety eight Tunes for wedding dances Made music dan my fate In Lerwick Faider bocht My gaer ta tak in tow Paying eighteen shillings For fiddle, case an bow Hadd oot a langer dances Fae four o’clock to ten Seventeen oors o playin Fir me an twartree men Bow apo me foreairm An rockin too for aese Fingers skynned bi tyoch strings An ringin lugs fir days Atween me spells o playing Cam polkas, Shetland reels Schottisches too I danced An keekit up me heels Mair as a decade passed dan In lichtsome spree an foy Whan I cam by thirty Da fiddle wis laid by Losin Dad an Tammie An Clementine göd too Left Leebie, me an Mam Ta mak wir hom anew Days taen up wi makkin As postie an da lik Foo life’s path is trodden It passes in a blink Trowe it aa my fiddle Wis never far fae sicht Fir neebor fock I’d play Whan in aboot da nicht Tammy took an interest In aa da tunes I kent Dan cam Erchie P Lee My mindins fir ta hent Noo I’m auld an happit At eighty-five I’m don But aye I sammas wissed 'At my tunes dey wid live on Though blate I telt my tale In hoop someen wid mind Aa at’s geen afore wis Da mett o love an vynd
12.
Thanks Mam 04:13
Turns out I owe you big time For a lot of who I am And so this is a thank you For sticking with me, Mam For early kitchen childcare Watching mince and tatties cook For a chorus of voices In every Ladybird book For making me a tutu For a Cinderella neep A knitting bag, a Fair Isle And book covers by the heap Your time was mine   You gave your best You were always there in my life Your time was mine You gave your best And you were always there For all-night taxi driving Listening to my thundering scales For endless tea and biscuits Staying firmly on the rails For the weekly Shetland Times Aberdeen-bound in the mail Mercy drops of twenty pounds And oatcakes without fail For driving me to Cambridge Telling me I would be fine For formal hall attendance Talking small and drinking wine For helping me to find digs When I moved to the big smoke For every nightly phone call Every laugh and every joke For flitting me so often In a boat or car or van For knowing my friends always And for welcoming my man So thanks, Mam, for your patience I have tried it quite a lot Despite protests I’m dead chuffed That you were the Mam I got
13.
Baloo balilli, baloo balilli Baloo balilli, baloo baa Gae awa, peerie fairies Gae awa, peerie fairies Gae awa, peerie fairies Fae wir bairn noo Dan come, boannie angels Ta wir peerie bairn Dan come, boannie angels Ta wir bairn noo Dey’ll sheen owre da cradle O wir peerie bairn Dey’ll sheen owre da cradle O wir bairn noo

about

'Lasses Trust in Providence' is the name of a traditional Shetland fiddle tune but it also neatly describes the content of this album. Here are ninth to twenty-first century women's tales which illuminate the 'She' in Shetland. In dialect and occasionally English language, songs touch on themes of exploration, witchcraft, motherhood, friendship, creativity, courage and survival. Traditional and self-penned, lyrics paint a nuanced picture of island femininity, framed by memorable melodies.

credits

released December 10, 2018

Composition, vocals and fiddle by Claire White
Composition and guitar by Robbie Leask
Recording and mixing by Tim Matthew at Mareel Recording Studio, Lerwick
Mastering by Jonathan Ritch
Design by Louise Bichan
Photography by Louise Bichan
Manufacturing by Birnam
All arrangements by Claire White and Robbie Leask

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about

Claire White Scotland, UK

Claire White is an award-winning Shetland singer-songwriter and fiddler. She learned music from Dr Tom Anderson and has been performing and teaching internationally for twenty-five years. She has previously played in Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, the USA, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sardinia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Estonia, Poland, Ireland and the UK. ... more

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