Here’s a wee video of Michael Biggins and I performing my Scots translation of In The Bleak Midwinter for St Margarets in Braemar for their Christmas Card series.
Download/stream the single:
Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/3qrnXl9
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3nMwn4U
On Christmas Eve at 18:00 GMT, I’m releasing a video of me reading The Nicht Afore Christmas. 
Scots translation by Irene McFarlane. Illustration by Rosemary Cunningham. Published by Tippermuir Books. Don’t forget to click “Set Reminder” Facebook: https://bit.ly/3nGToGh YouTube: https://bit.ly/2LVnY0Z
Last night I was trying to submit my Scots translation of In The Bleak Midwinter to Spotify‘s playlist pitch tool. A question on the form is “What languages are the lyrics in?”. Despite having Gaelic and other minority languages as options, Spotify did not offer Scots as an option, and I couldn’t submit my song for consideration in the correct language. I made contact with SpotifyCares only to be told that they were “not able to confirm if or when your specific request will be addressed” but they were “building new features and tools for you to use”. Scots isn’t a technical tool or feature, it is a language in which people speak and sing in and release music into Spotify in. And Spotify should treat it as such and add it to the list of languages.
Read the article here: http://www.scotsman.com/news/people/spotify-urged-recognise-indigenous-scottish-languages-scots-singer-3070589
I was delighted to perform a song for the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards which were broadcast as Na Trads on BBC ALBA on Saturday 12th December. I was even more chuffed that both Scots and Gaelic were represented in the presenting of the show, with the brilliant Alistair Heather co-hosting.
Watch my performance, joined by Graham Rorie (Gnoss) and Jack McRobbie here:
Catch up with the full show on iPlayer here. Photos by Sean Purser
A Scots translation of the Christmas carol, In The Bleak Midwinter with new additional verse. Featuring Michael Biggins on piano. Released on Bandcamp on 4th December and on every other platform 24th December
LYRICS:
In ‘e bleak midwinter
A lang lang time ago
Earth stood hard as iron
Waater like a stone
Snaw hid faen
Snaw on snaw, snaw on snaw
In ‘e bleak midwinter
A lang, lang time ago
Whit can I gie Him
Puir as I am?
Gin I were a shepherd
Ah wid gie a lamb
An gin I were a wise loon
Ah’d duly play ma pairt
Whit can ah gie him?
Ah wid gie ma hairt
In The Bleak Midwinter
Frosty wind maks mane
A’ll ne’er be a stranger
And niver rove alane.
An gin that I should loose my wye
An waak a darkened road
Yer licht ‘ill guide me hameward
Yer love fir me ye showed
Iona Fyfe 