ABSTRACT
The island communities of Orkney and Shetland are of course of Norwegian racial origin. The Norn language continued to be the ordinary speech of Orkney until the end of the seventeenth century, and of Shetland to the middle of the eighteenth. Following the general summary, this chapter considers the music of Orkney and Shetland separately in greater detail. As in Orkney, a number of the Norn words of the older songs have survived while the tunes have become lost. The tradition of preserving words and ignoring tunes has held sway in Shetland as elsewhere. Specimens of these may be seen in County Folklore, Vol. III. The same volume gives the tune without the words of’ an ancient Scandinavian Air preserved in Shetland’ from Hibbert’s Shetland. The air is an interesting one. There is also the well-known New Year’s Even Song, ‘We’re a’ Queen Mary’s Men’ which is still sung by the children.
