"Cod Liver Oil an the Orange Juice" is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

written by Ron Clark and Carl MacDougall. It was recorded by Scottish folk singer

Hamish Imlach Hamish Imlach (10 February 1940 – 1 January 1996) was a Scottish folk singer. Imlach was born in Calcutta to Scottish parents, although he claimed to have been conceived in Glasgow, Scotland. His commercial success was limited, but he influence ...

and released in 1966. The song tells the story of Hairy Mary, a long-haired

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

girl, and her dalliance with the song's unnamed protagonist, known only as ''The Hard Man''. According to the song, the protagonist meets Hairy Mary in the

Dennistoun Dennistoun () is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's Glasgow#East End, east end, about east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun (ward), Dennist ...

Palais, a dance hall, and he tries various chat-up lines, culminating in an offer to run her home, "I've got a pair of sannies" (sandshoes). In the

dunny An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

of her tenement, their love-making is disturbed when her mother goes to the cludgie, and he flees. Hairy Mary searches for The Hard Man, but he has joined the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. She has a baby, whose father's in the army. Digitised July 21, 2009. The song was greatly requested on British Forces Radio, but it was banned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

for a short time from such programmes as '' Two Way Family Favourites'' due to its innuendoes and possible erotic content. Irish band

The Mary Wallopers The Mary Wallopers are an Irish folk music group based in Dundalk, County Louth, originally consisting of brothers Charles and Andrew Hendy, and Sean McKenna. In 2022 the group expanded to include Róisín Barrett on bass, Brendan McInerney on dru ...

released a version of the song in 2022.Mary Wallopers release - https://www.last.fm/music/The+Mary+Wallopers/+albums

References

{{reflist Scottish folk songs