Findlay Napier - The Ledger (2020)

The Ledger is a time capsule of the fledgling Scottish folk scene. Every week in the late ’50s and early ’60s The Scotsman published a traditional Scottish folk song with lyrics and melody alongside an explanatory article by folklorist Norman Buchan. My Grandfather, Findlay Cumming, cut them out of the newspaper and pasted them into a ledger. Buchan’s articles were collected and published as 101 Scottish Folk Songs and later as The Scottish Folksinger, two of the most influential books on the Scottish Folk scene past and present.

In early 2018 Gillian, Mike and I whittled over sixty neatly cut and pasted songs from the ledger down to the songs you hear on this recording. At first we searched for a theme but in the end we chose the ten we liked singing the most.

The Ledger is best enjoyed beside a roaring fire with a dram… tea and coffee also work… especially with a dram in them.