Innovative and inspiring, both collecting traditional songs, as well as writing new ones. He was, and remains, a very influential artist, writer and singer, committed to social issues. He travelled around the world collecting and recording songs.
Married to Peggy Seeger, he reportedly sang his most famous song - 'The first time ever I saw your face' - to her over the telephone during a transatlantic phone call.
His song 'Dirty Old Town' has been recorded hundreds of time, notably by The Spinners (the British folk group), Rod Stewart, The Pogues, Townes Van Zandt, The Specials, the Mudmen.
He was father to musicians Kirsty MacColl, Neill MacColl and Calum MacColl, and grandfather to Bombay Bicycle Club's Jamie MacColl.
MacColl and Seeger recorded several albums of political commentary songs. MacColl himself wrote over 300 songs, some of which have been recorded by as diverse as Roberta Flack, Planxty and Johnny Cash. In 2001, The Essential Ewan MacColl Songbook was published, which includes the words and music to 200 of his songs.
There is a plaque dedicated to MacColl in Russell Square in London. The inscription includes: "Presented by his communist friends 25.1.1990 ... Folk Laureate - Singer - Dramatist - Marxist ... in recognition of strength and singleness of purpose of this fighter for Peace and Socialism". In 1991 he was awarded a posthumous honorary degree by the University of Salford.
MacColl was very politically active and as well as political song he was a playwright and one of the founders of the Communist backed 'Edinburgh People's Festival' from 1951-54. The EPF was a victim of McCarthyism but provided the blueprint for today's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
As I Came in by Fisherrow
Ewan MacColl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As I came in by Fisherrow, Musselburgh was near me
I threw off my mussel pock and courted with my deary
Up stairs, doon stairs, timmer stairs fears me
I thought it lang to lie ma lane when I'm sae near my deary
But since the word's gane through the toon,
My dear I canna mend it
But ye maun mount the cutty stool and I maun mount the pillar
And that's the way the poor folks dae, because they hae nae siller
The song 'As I Came in by Fiserrow', written by Ewan MacColl, is a traditional Scottish song. The lyrics are about a man who has just arrived in Fisherrow and wants to visit his beloved in Musselburgh. The singer is conscious of the stairs that lead him to his lover’s house and comments on them, stating that he could be afraid, but he is not. He throws off his mussel pock and starts courting his deary.
The song progresses with the singer expressing his regret at not being alone with his lover. He comments on how he wishes she could have hidden her apron down to avoid anyone finding out about their affairs. They have been found out, and the word is spreading throughout the town. The authorities have decreed that they have to mount the cutty stool and pillar, respectively, because they cannot afford to pay the fine. The cutty stool was a seat that was used to punish women, while the pillar was used to punish men. The punishment would be public lashings to shame them and deter them from repeated offenses. The song ultimately ends with the lovers being punished.
Line by Line Meaning
As I came in by Fisherrow, Musselburgh was near me
As I was approaching Fisherrow, I could feel that Musselburgh was also nearby.
I threw off my mussel pock and courted with my deary
I released my mussel basket and began courting my beloved.
Up stairs, doon stairs, timmer stairs fears me
Climbing and descending stairs made of timber worries me.
I thought it lang to lie ma lane when I'm sae near my deary
Being so close to my beloved, I knew it would be a waste to spend the night alone and far away.
Oh had her apron bidden doon, the kirk wad ne'er hae kent it
If only my beloved had kept her apron down, no one would have found out about our love affair.
But since the word's gane through the toon, My dear I canna mend it
But now that the whole town knows about us, my beloved and I cannot do anything to change it.
But ye maun mount the cutty stool and I maun mount the pillar
We must accept our punishment and sit on the stool of shame and the pillar of repentance.
And that's the way the poor folks dae, because they hae nae siller
This is how poor people like us are punished, as we cannot afford to pay any fines or bribes.
Contributed by Camden J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Steven Christian Amendola
on There's Cauld Kale in Aberdeen
There's cauld kail in Aberdeen,
And custocks in Stra'bogie,
Where ilka lad maun ha'e his lass,
But I maun ha'e my cogie.
For I maun ha'e my cogie, Sirs,
I canna want my cogie;
I wadna gi'e my three-gir'd cog
For a' the wives in Bogie.
Johnny Smith has got a wife
Wha scrimps him o' his cogie:
But were she mine, upon my life,
I'd dook her in a bogie.
For I maun ha'e my cogie, sirs,
I canna want my cogie;
I wadna gi'e my three-gir'd cog
For a' the wives in Bogie.
These are the lyrics of these two verses on WikiSource. I'm not entirely fluent in Scots so I'm not sure if Ewan Maccoll's delivery of the last line in either verse is here consistent with this text, especially as Maccoll also says "Then fie, gi'e me my cogie" rather than "But I maun ha'e my cogie." I can't quite hear what he actually says in the last line.