Scotland, (1864-1941)
Winter
- NOO that cauldrife Winter’s here
- There’s a pig in ilka bed,
- Kinlin’s scarce an’ coals is dear;
- Noo that cauldrife Winter’s here
- Doddy mittons we maun wear,
- Butter skites an’ winna spread;
- Noo that cauldrife Winter’s here
- There’s a pig in ilka bed.
Editor’s Note: Key to “Doric” dialect:
- [cauldrife = chilling]
- [ilka = every]
- [kinlin = kindling]
- [doddy = wool]
- [skites = skates around]
About the Poet
Charles Murray (1864-1941), Scottish poet. Murray wrote in the “Doric” or rural dialect of the people of north-eastern Scotland (the Grampian Region), a language seen as rich, expressive, and rooted in tradition.
Most of his poetry was written while in South Africa, where he emigrated in 1888 and worked as an engineer for a gold-mining company. Later, he became a lieutenant with the Railway Pioneers during the Boer War, and then became a South African civil servant and was appointed Secretary of Public Works in 1912. He retired and moved back to Scotland in 1924. [DES-6/03]