Scad the Beggars - 2002

Scad the Beggars

After the success of Ptarmigan, I decided to keep the momentum going by forming a group to continue to promote the Traditional Tunes, the Songs and the Rhymes that are popular throughout North Antrim, so I gathered up a few like minded souls and formed this new group.

We needed a name and we left it to Charlie to come up with some suitable couthy local words or expressions which might work as a handle for this new ensemble. From all his suggestions we settled on Scad the Beggars.

For those who don't already know, Scad the Beggar, is actually a local term for mealie-crushie, which is oatmeal fried in bacon fat, known in Scotland as creesh-mealie - so now you know!

So the initial line up was in fact:

Dick Glasgow: Fiddle, Hammered Dulcimer, Mandolin and Concertina.

Sabine Glasgow: Harp and Fifes.

Charlie Gillen: Rhymes and Banter.

Alan Wade: Scottish Smallpipes.

Colin Urwin: Vocals and Guitar.

Greg Gault: Guitar.

This line up lasted for a couple of years, but just as we were about to leave to perform as guest artists at the 'Music on the Move' festival, in the Ulster American Folk Park, in May of 2004, Colin suddenly decided to leave the group.

We managed to carry out our festival commitments that weekend, without a singer, but that was a major setback and shortly afterwards, Charlie also decided to call it a day, to spend more time at his writing and that was effectively, the end of the first chapter. 

However, the remaining four members soldiered on, keeping the group's name alive, in order to continue to promote the traditional music of the area.

Since 2004, the line up has varied a little as we have become involved with other musicians and singers in the area and encouraged them to join us. So we meet up as often as possible and play informally in one local hostelry or another, to help keep the music and song alive in the area.

We also perform at local and not so local events when asked, so we've taken our music and song to stages in local village halls and town halls and to festival stages in Belfast and even Campbeltown in Scotland.

The important thing for us is to keep playing and singing, to help keep the old tunes and songs alive for the next generation.

While Charlie was a member of the group, he penned this little ditty.

Scad the Beggars

1 

WE’LL TAK YE BACK TAE GRANNY, 
WAE HER SKILLET ON THE CROOK, 
THE RECIPES O’ YISTERYEAR, 
THEY NIVIR LEEV’T WITHIN A BOOK.

CHORUS 

SCAD THE BEGGARS, MEALIE CRUSHIE, 
YE CAN CA’ IT WHAT YE CAN, 
OATEN MALE AN BACON CREESH, 
TASTY FRYIN IN THE PAN

2

WE HANNAE GOT THE OAT MEAL, 

NOR HAE WE A FRYIN PAN, 

BUT WERE HERE TAE ENTERTAIN YE 

WI THE SCAD THE BEGGARS BAND.

3 

COME BACK IN TIME A DANNER ,
JOOST COME WAE US FOR A WHILE,
TAE HEAR THE TUNES AN SANGS AN STORIES ,
THAT ARE SURE TAE YE BEGUILE.

4 

HOOCH, CLAP AN JOIN THE FUN ,
AN WATCH YER CARES A' FLEE AWA’,
AN GIN YE AW WID KEN THE CHORUS ,
THEN YE AW CAN SING AWA’ .

5

SHUT YER EEN AN DRIFT AWA ,
FOR MEMORIES O’ TIMES LANG GAN ,
ON THE SHIP O' DREAMS COME SAILIN ,
WAE THE SCAD THE BEGGARS BAND.

by Charlie Gillen

*********************************