Album Notes

About Summair

Folk music is an ever evolving entity. Before Edison invented sound recording, it was passed on exclusively by word of mouth. When people exited a gig in the 1700’s, they didn’t purchase the CD and go home and listen to it at leisure. All they could do was treasure the actual moment, for that was all there was. When the song faded from their memory it was gone forever. Though, perhaps sheet music was available in the more upper crust establishments.
On this CD are songs I remember from my childhood in Scotland and songs I learned from passing musical aquaintences. They are all traditional Scottish and Irish tunes. Some have crossed back and forth across the Irish sea and some have sailed the whole world over, picking up and dropping verses along the way.
I had a bunch of them holed up in the back of my head for years. When I began to record this CD, I had to delve pretty deep to dredge up the lyrics and melodies, some of whose origins I could hardly remember. I’m sure there are countless versions of these airs that have changed both subtly and dramatically through the passage of generations. These are my versions. Maybe they are different. I make no excuses for that, because that is the nature of folk music.
No doubt some other musician will hear my interpretations, deem them learnable and thus the evolving folk music process will continue.