Here is one of two songs on this recording
dealing with the same problem: that of choosing a partner. In this
case, the lady chooses (and rightly so, we feel) for Jamie, who plays
pipes and fiddle (something like giving a cat its own fishmonger) in
preference to Sandy, who is only rich and has cattle and sheep, a house
and other boring stuff.
You may notice here the custom of the broken token:
"He had but ae saxpence, he broke it in twa, and he gied me the hauf
o't when he gaed awa'." When a couple were going to part for
any length of time, a token of their love (in this case a sixpenny piece)
would be broken in half. Each partner would then carry one half with
them wherever they went until they met again.
The Scottish custom of using half coins was very
practical, especially for sailors, who would come home after ten years at
sea, their faces a hazy memory to their partners, and soldiers, who would
return with their faces rearranged. When the two halves of the token
were fitted together you knew the person with the second half was your
true love! The whole token had also the added advantage of being
negotiable currency for a bottle of cheap plonk and a Chinese takeaway for
two.
This tradition was in every way much more efficient
and labor saving than the English custom of tying trees round their
bonnets, as in: "All around my hat I will wear a green willow, all
around my hat for twelve months and a day. If anyone should ask me
the reason I'm wearing it, it's all because my true love is far far
away".