When the yellow’s on the broom, when the yellow’s on the broom,
Oh, I’ll tak’ ye on the road again when the yellow’s on the broom…
—Adam McNaughtan, “Yellow on the Broom”
The song was inspired by Betsy Whyte’s 1979 autobiography THE YELLOW ON THE BROOM: The Early Days of a Traveller Woman
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Betsy Whyte’s autobiography – “a beautiful book, shining with honesty, a classic” – is a fascinating insight into the life & customs of traveller people in the 1920s and 1930s, & is available as an ebook from Birlinn
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https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-yellow-on-the-broom-2/
#Scottish #literature #culture #song #folksong #history #20thcentury #travellers
The late Joe Aitken sings “Yellow on the Broom” at Cromar Folk Club
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Assoc for Scottish Literature