"Men of Worth" by Archie Fisher:
My Notes on the Lyrics:
Leave the land behind, laddie, better days to find
But who will tend me sheep when I'm far o'er the deep?
But when the job is o'er and your boat rots on the shore
How will you feed your family when the companies go away?
Thoughtful (controversial) lines such as these made the BBC reject this song after originally commissioning a song about the new oil industry. Mary Black sings this song, and the album notes say: "When composer Archie Fisher was commissioned to write a song for a BBC program celebrating the new oil economy of Scotland, he submitted "Men of Worth," a song which points out the pitfalls of trading a way of life for easy company money. Although "Men of Worth" was rejected for its original purpose, it may well become an anthem in this age of multinational corporations."
I know you're men of worth; you're the best that's in the north
Not men of greed, but men who need the work that's come your way
From Flotta to Kishorn a new industry is born
I know you're men of worth; you're the best that's in the north
Not men of greed, but men who need the work that's come your way
Leave the land behind, laddie, better days to find
But who will tend me sheep when I'm far o'er the deep?
Leave the fishing trade, lads, there's money to be made
But when the job is o'er and your boat rots on the shore
How will you feed your family when the companies go away?
There's harbours to be built, lads, rigs to tow and tilt
I know you're men of worth; you're the best that's in the north
Not men of greed, but men who need the work that's come your way
The companies have the money and they'll soon teach you the skills
Green fields far away, lads, the Forties and the Brae
Be a madman or a roustabout, they'll soon teach you to drill
But who will tend me sheep when I'm far o'er the deep?
On the Neptune or the Sea Quest when the snow comes to the hill
Leave the fishing trade, lads, there's money to be made
The hand-line and the Shetland yoal are of a bygone day [alternate: hard life and the Shetlands]
Come to Aberdeen, lads; sights you've never seen!
Be a welder on the pipeline or a fitter at Nigg Bay [alternate: McVeigh]
But when the job is o'er and your boat rots on the shore
How will you feed your family when the companies go away?
There's harbours to be built, lads, rigs to tow and tilt
To rest upon the ocean bed, like pylons in the sea
Pipelines to be laid and a hundred different trades
That'll pay a decent living wage to the likes of you and me
I know you're men of worth; you're the best that's in the north
Not men of greed, but men who need the work that's come your way
From Flotta to Kishorn a new industry is born
That'll pay a decent living wage to the likes of you and me
I know you're men of worth; you're the best that's in the north
Not men of greed, but men who need the work that's come your way
From Flotta to Kishorn a new industry is born
Now Peterhead and Cromarty will never be the same
I know you're men of worth; you're the best that's in the north
Not men of greed, but men who need the work that's come your way
My Notes on the Lyrics:
The Scots joining the oil industry were "leaving the land behind" in two ways: first, they left behind their land-based farming, sheepherding, and fishing to go to the middle of the North Sea, and second, they started exploiting the land on a radically bigger scale as part of oil extraction.
The companies have the money and they'll soon teach you the skills
The companies have the money and they'll soon teach you the skills
"The companies" are actually mainly one company, British Petroleum, as this was the 1970s and they had extensive control over the UK's North Sea oil then.
Green fields far away, lads, the Forties and the Brae
Green fields far away, lads, the Forties and the Brae
Another double-meaning line! I love these. The "green fields" are the Scots' native pastures and former place of earning a livelihood. The Forties is a far-away kind of field from green fields; it's an oilfield, the largest in the North Sea. It is also literally far away as it is over 100 miles offshore. It was named "The Forties" because it is located 57° 43′ 0″ N, 1° 1′ 0″ E, in "the forties." I thought the Brae must also be an oilfield, but it is not insofar as I can tell. Rather, Brae, formerly a fishing village, is the site of Sullom Voe Terminal, a place for oil to be stored coming in from the North Sea before it is taken away by tanker.
Be a madman or a roustabout, they'll soon teach you to drill
Be a madman or a roustabout, they'll soon teach you to drill
You have to be a bit crazy to want to live aboard an oil rig. Rough sea conditions, the possibility of being trapped by storms, and risk of fire and explosion, to name a few dangers. "Roustabout" is a general term for an unruly person or several types of manual labor, but here the song refers to the actual oil industry job title "roustabout." Aboard an oil rig, a roustabout is a jack-of-all-trades of sorts and does a lot of dirty and difficult work related to keeping the rig running.
Spot the Forties
But who will tend me sheep when I'm far o'er the deep?
Good question.
On the Neptune or the Sea Quest when the snow comes to the hill
On the Neptune or the Sea Quest when the snow comes to the hill
Neptune has got to be one of the most outrageously popular names for oil rigs ever. I can't even find which Neptune the song is referring to because it's the name of so many rigs. The Sea Quest was a lot easier to track down. Here you can read about the history of the Sea Quest. The Sea Quest found the first UK territory North Atlantic oil in 1969 (thus giving rise to the Scottish oil industry of the 1970s and everything in this song). In 1977, BP sold the Sea Quest to Sedco and they renamed it Sedco 135C and hauled it south to Nigerian oilfields, where in 1980 it caught fire and it was sunk.
Semi-submersible rig similar to the Sea Quest
Leave the fishing trade, lads, there's money to be made
I gather the fishing trade was not all that lucrative.
The hand-line and the Shetland yoal are of a bygone day [alternate: hard life and the Shetlands]
The hand-line and the Shetland yoal are of a bygone day [alternate: hard life and the Shetlands]
Hand-line fishing is the oldest and simplest form: the fishing line is in your hand. It was still quite prevalent. The lyrics I found say "Shetland yawl" but I am correcting it here to "Shetland yoal." A yawl is a sleek, two-sailed racing sailboat, and a Shetland yoal is a traditional, simple wooden rowboat that can be outfitted with a square sail. It seems more likely. The alternate line has the men leaving behind the hard life and the Shetland Islands behind.
Come to Aberdeen, lads; sights you've never seen!
Come to Aberdeen, lads; sights you've never seen!
Aberdeen is the jumping-off point for a lot of the North Sea oil fields. If you want to get to the Forties, you will get to it via helicopter from Aberdeen. Men were also needed to work on the extensive oil infrastructure in Aberdeen.
Be a welder on the pipeline or a fitter at Nigg Bay [alternate: McVeigh]
Be a welder on the pipeline or a fitter at Nigg Bay [alternate: McVeigh]
Nigg Bay contains both an oil depot and an oil rig construction yard. Today the oil rig construction yard is an "energy park" and they make giant wind turbines there. No idea what McVeigh is other than a Scottish surname. I think that Nigg Bay is the correct lyric.
"Shetland" or "Ness" Yoal
But when the job is o'er and your boat rots on the shore
How will you feed your family when the companies go away?
Thoughtful (controversial) lines such as these made the BBC reject this song after originally commissioning a song about the new oil industry. Mary Black sings this song, and the album notes say: "When composer Archie Fisher was commissioned to write a song for a BBC program celebrating the new oil economy of Scotland, he submitted "Men of Worth," a song which points out the pitfalls of trading a way of life for easy company money. Although "Men of Worth" was rejected for its original purpose, it may well become an anthem in this age of multinational corporations."
Archie Fisher
There's harbours to be built, lads, rigs to tow and tilt
Oil rigs are towed out to where they're needed after being built. Semi-submersible rigs such as the Sea Quest have a heavy ballast of water they can take on to control their height in the water. The amount of ballast has effects on the tilt of the rig. Sometimes things go wrong and rigs begin tilting uncontrollably and the occupants have to flee for their lives.
To rest upon the ocean bed, like pylons in the sea
To rest upon the ocean bed, like pylons in the sea
Pipelines to be laid and a hundred different trades
That'll pay a decent living wage to the likes of you and me
That'll pay a decent living wage to the likes of you and me
Nigg Bay
I know you're men of worth; you're the best that's in the north
Not men of greed, but men who need the work that's come your way
From Flotta to Kishorn a new industry is born
Flotta: a small island in the Orkneys with a major oil terminal. Formerly a quiet farming community, then a WWI and WWII naval base. Kishorn is the collective name of the small settlements around Loch Kishorn. There, Kishorn Yard built oil rigs in a separated community of 2000 workers who had all their supplies ferried in so as to not tax the road and change the surrounding communities. This yard operated until the 1980s when the oil industry was no longer large enough to sustain it.
Now Peterhead and Cromarty will never be the same
Now Peterhead and Cromarty will never be the same
Peterhead: Formerly a fishing town with a good harbor, Peterhead became a locus of the oil industry with the building of the St. Fergus gas terminal. Cromarty: the firth (strait) containing Nigg Bay.
Kishorn
I know you're men of worth; you're the best that's in the north
Not men of greed, but men who need the work that's come your way
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