"Caller Herrin is a Scottish song, the music by

Nathaniel Gow Nathaniel Gow (28 May 1763 – 19 January 1831) was a Scottish musician who was the fourth son of Niel Gow, and a celebrated performer, composer and arranger of tunes, songs and other pieces on his own right. He wrote about 200 compositions inc ...

(1763–1831), and the words by

Carolina Nairne Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne (16 August 1766 – 26 October 1845) – also known as Carolina Baroness Nairn in the peerage of Scotland and Baroness Keith in that of the United Kingdom – was a Scottish songwriter. Many of her so ...

(1766–1845).

History

Sir John Everett Millais - Caller Herrin', 1881

"Caller herrin means fresh

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocea ...

. It was the traditional cry of Newhaven fishwives, who carried in creels freshly caught herring which they sold from door to door. Gow, a violinist and bandleader of Edinburgh, incorporated this cry, and also the bells of

St Andrew's Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, into his composition, written about 1798. It became one of his best-known tunes.Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831)
regencydances.org, accessed 17 June 2016.(Wha'll Buy My) Caller Herring
Education Scotland, accessed 17 June 2016 Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne, was a songwriter, using the pseudonym "Mrs Bogan of Bogan". Attending balls in country houses of Perthshire, she heard the music of Nathaniel Gow, and wrote words for "Caller Herrin. It has been adapted many times.

Philip Knapton Philip Knapton (20 October 1788 – 20 June 1833) was an English organist and composer, active in the musical life of York. Life Knapton was born in York in 1788, son of Samuel Knapton, an organist and double bass player, and a music publisher. ...

composed a set of variations of the tune, for piano or harp, which appeared in 1820 and became popular.

Joseph Binns Hart Joseph Binns Hart (5 June 1794 – 10 December 1844) was an English organist, and a compiler of dance music, particularly of the quadrille. Life He was born in London on 5 June 1794. He was chorister at St Paul's Cathedral under John Sale from 180 ...

(1794–1844) arranged the tune as a

quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodi ...

in his ''8th Set of Scotch Quadrilles'' (1827).The Life & Quadrilles of Joseph Binns Hart (1794-1844)
regencydances.org, accessed 17 June 2016.

Music

The tune and words of the chorus: \addlyrics

In literature

* In ''

The Ascent of Rum Doodle ''The Ascent of Rum Doodle'' is a short 1956 novel by W. E. Bowman (1911–1985). It is a parody of the non-fictional chronicles of mountaineering expeditions (notably H. W. Tilman's account of the ascent of Nanda Devi and Maurice Herzog's boo ...

'' by W. E. Bowman, Constant the Linguist gives a "passionate rendering" of Caller Herrin' to Travis the Seal with devastating results.

References

{{reflist

External links

Caller Herring
tunearch.com

rampantscotland.com

Jean Redpath. Will ye no come back again? The Songs of Lady Nairne Scottish songs History of Edinburgh History of fishing