"Westering Home" is a song that was written by

Hugh S. Roberton Sir Hugh Stevenson Roberton (23 February 18747 October 1952) was a Scottish composer and Britain's leading choral-master. Roberton was born in Glasgow, where, in 1906, he founded the Glasgow Orpheus Choir. For five years before that it was the T ...

in the 1920s. It was subsequently adopted as the

slow march Marching refers to the organized, uniformed, steady walking forward in either rhythmic or route-step time; and, typically, it refers to overland movements on foot of military troops and units under field orders. Marching is often performed t ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Lyrics

It runs as follows:

Chorus Westering home, and a song in the air, Light in the eye and it's goodbye to care. Laughter o' love, and a welcoming there, Isle of my heart, my own one. Verse 1 Tell me o' lands o' the Orient gay, Speak o' the riches and joys o'
Cathay Cathay (; ) is a historical name for China that was used in Europe. During the early modern period, the term ''Cathay'' initially evolved as a term referring to what is now Northern China, completely separate and distinct from China, which ...
; Eh, but it's grand to be wakin' ilk day To find yourself nearer to
Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...
. Verse 2 Where are the folk like the folk o' the west? Canty and couthy and kindly, the best. There I would hie me and there I would rest At hame wi' my ain folk in Islay. Verse 3 Now I'm at home and at home I do lay Dreaming of riches that come from Cathay I'll hop a good ship and be on my way And bring back my fortune to Islay

"Ilk" means each. "Canty" means neat or trim. "Couthy" means homely, simple, unpretentious. "Islay" is pronounced "Isla". The tune is a modified version of the traditional "The Muckin o Geordie's Byre", with the time signature changed from 6/8 to 3/4, and the rhythm slightly altered. Roberton appropriated this form of the melody from a Gaelic song with lyrics relating to nostalgia for

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

in the trenches of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, one of several entitled ''Eilean mo Chrìdh. Its English title ''Isle of my Heart'' features in Roberton's lyric.

References

External links

Entry at the Scottish Poetry Library
Scottish songs Islay 1920s songs 1920s in Scotland Songs about Scotland {{1920s-song-stub