Henry's Songbook

Chorus:
It's rovin' for pleasure by mountain and stream
Rovin' for sorrow wi' whisky for dreams
Rovin' for fortune on a far foreign shore
At the back o' the north wind it's rovin' no more

In the grey o' the gloamin' there sits an old man
Wi' a glint in his eye and a glass in his hand
And he sings tae the new day when the old day is done
Cryin', Where are my daughters and where are my sons

The old woman pulls at the old shuttle wheel
She sings o' the cradle, the plough and the creel
She sings to the bairns as she weaves and she spins
An old woman's song tae the tune o' the wind

There's a maiden who scatters the seed on the land
But the wind takes a share o' the seed from her hand
That others might harvest what Scotland can sow
As far as the blast o' the north wind can blow

Tune: Jack o' Diamonds (amer. trad)

[1991:] One of Europe's most enduring myths tells of a land behind the North Wind, and in some versions of the story, the land is Scotland. In terms of Scotland's people, the idea is certainly credible - over the centuries they seem to have been prey to a perpetual outward force, pushing them to all parts of the globe. If it's a wind, then it's one that has many names, some harsh - poverty and persecution - and some hopeful - betterment, restlessness, a desire to know what's over the next hill, the next ocean. But it's a complex wind as well, perplexing, for the further the Scots are blown from home, the more that home seems to exert its pull on them - and that's a paradox which has become part of our national character; anyone who wants to understand Scotland today must look at the lives of the Scots abroad, past and present. And nowhere have these lives had more impact than across the Atlantic. (Notes Brian McNeill, 'The Back o' the North Wind')