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Expert: Kaye McAlpine - 10/27/2009


Question
Greetings!

Several years ago I found a 30-second clippit of a song, it was labeled as "All Hallows Eve" by Incubus Succubus. However, it's not their song, and I cannot find the proper artist or title to save my life. I've searched for years, and I'm finally handing it over. I've written down the lyrics that it had, but I don't know what genre even to call it. Folk music is the best I can think of, because it was very simple...some light background instruments, and a woman's voice more or less 'talking'. It wasn't really singing, and it was by no means rock or heavy metal or anything.

The lyrics:

All Hallow's Eve,
A Moonlit night,
On Samhain when the veil is thin,
Between the worlds of dark and light,
Dare you let a stranger in?

She draws out the words Eve, veil, is, thin and stranger. I remembered that much of it, but it went on to more or less be a ballad about a woman who let a stranger in during halloween, took him as her lover, and he vanished in the morning light, since he was actually a ghost. It was really good, but I have no clue where else to look.

Can you please help?

Answer
Hello Amanda

Ok, I've had a look about, and this is a puzzler. it's certainly not traditional folk music - or poetry – that I know of. Have you tried something like Spotify or iTunes - I inputted All Hallows Eve and a whole load of tracks cam up, of all kinds of music, and obviously, you'd recognise the snippet.

This is the only thing I can think of just now -the actual narrative is as old as the hills, of course, (the returning revenant), but the language is pretty modern - using the old term Samhain is actually a pointer to that.

I hope this helps, I know how this kind of thing can niggle for years!

Kaye

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Kaye McAlpine

Expertise

My main field of expertise in in traditional ballads - those commonly known as the Child ballads. Those containing executions are my particular speciality, but I am also interested in ballad structure formula, functions and narrative constructs. However, I also have interest in - and academic knowledge of - bothy ballads, and the singing tradition of Scotland - although not Gaelic song. This includes Jacobite song, political song, songs about the trades, and so on. I'm pretty au fait with traditional singers and bands too. And while I enjoy singing the songs, I'm not so sure others might enjoy listening!

Experience

I studied ballads academically, as well as Scottish literature. This extended into Scottish social customs and social history. I was the traditional music reviewer for the Edinburgh Evening News for 4 years, and have several publications to my name. I have been a freelance tutor in outreach courses from Edinburgh University on Scottish Culture and Tradition, including lifecycle customs, broadsheet ballads in Scotland, the traditional ballad and history. I am a freelance writer, have been a guest presenter on Ch4 History Hunters programme, and was a contributor to BBC Radio Scotland's 'Songlines' series on 'The Dowie Dens of Yarrow', and have advised BBC Radio Scotland researchers regarding Scottish songs and ballads from the Borders.

Publications
Books: Forthcoming: The Gallows and The Stake. Published: Compendium of Scottish Ethnology, vol. 10 'Oral Literature and Performance Culture', chapter on The Traditional and the Border Ballad; The Harris Repertoire (Scottish Text Society, co-editor), The Ballad in History (chapter on Border ballads). Journals include Folklore, The Review of Scottish Culture, Scottish Studies, and The Scottish Literary Journal. Music reviews appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News

Education/Credentials
Ph D, M. Phil, BA (Hons)

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