By The Time I Get To Crail
Liner notes
This is one of my favourites. My notes say I cowrote it with Michael Dempster (later the Scots Makar), but I've no recollection of what his contribution was -- if I had to guess, I don't think I'd have picked all of those chords myself. You might suspect 'dreich', but I'm pretty sure that was mine; it's about the only Scots word I routinely use. I played this at Uncle Bill's wake, because it's about Fife and walking and taking action to make your world a better place, all of which I associate with him. I like that this is a serious song with some very silly lines in it.There's a force eight blowing on St Andrews Bay
It's the first week of October, it's a dreich Fife autumn day
I'm going to find a boat, make myself a sail
Maybe I'll have brightened up by the time I get to Crail
By the time I get to Crail, The Simpsons will be on
By the time I get to Crail, my crises will be gone
A spirit of summer will prevail
By the time I get to Crail
I've not been feeling like they say I ought to feel
I should be on Cloud 9, instead I'm down at heel
I'm going to put my hiking boots on, follow the coastal trail
I'll be walking on sunshine by the time I get to Crail
By the time I get to Crail, The Simpsons will be on
By the time I get to Crail, my crises will be gone
A spirit of summer will prevail
By the time I get to Crail
There's a blind guitarist, he's got his notes in Braille
He'll be on at the folk club, by the time I get to Crail
I used to smoke when it was raining, but I did not in hail
I'll be as high as a mountain by the time I get to Crail
I'm going to phone the Golf Hotel and order a pint of ale
We'll both have settled by the time I get to Crail
By the time I get to Crail, The Simpsons will be on
By the time I get to Crail, my crises will be gone
A spirit of summer will prevail
By the time I get to Crail.