Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Playing Spoons (1982) - Performed by Alec (Alex) and Belle Stewart (Isobella McGregor) of the Travelling Stewart family of Blair at a ceilidh. From the documentary "Gypsies Sing Long Ballads" (1982). Filmed and recorded by John Cohen in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland.
The complete movie can be watched here:
folkstreams.net/films/gypsies-sing-long-ballads
I extracted the songs and used my knowledge on video editing to share them on Youtube in the highest possible quality, I used manual video upscaling (no AI was used!) for this, to further document variants of traditional ballads and songs which has been my hobby for many years. I claim no ownership of the video, all the rights belong with John Cohen.
Note about the film:
Scotland’s Travellers have lived outside mainstream society for more than 500 years. Although some of the Travelling People still live by the sides of roads, most live today in houses and are under pressure to abandon their culture. This film celebrates their traditional music, especially the long unaccompanied ballads that date back hundreds of years and have been handed down by memory through the generations.
Note by Kevin W.:
I was delighted to discover this video documentation of Scotland's greatest tradition bearers. The often poorly treated Scottish Travellers honor the memories of their ancestors through songs, music and storytelling. They are proud of their culture and kept old traditions alive for hundreds of years. Many of our most gifted traditional singers and storytellers are Travellers.
Scottish Travellers are an indigenous ethnic minority in Scotland who live or traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle and for centuries were unfairly shunned by the settled population. For that reason the singing culture of the Travelling people had not been well documented before the 20th century when non-Travellers with an interest in folklore visited and befriended Travellers and started recording their songs, music and stories.
Playing Spoons (1982) - Performed by Alec (Alex) and Belle Stewart (Isobella McGregor) of the Travelling Stewart family of Blair at a ceilidh. From the documentary "Gypsies Sing Long Ballads" (1982). Filmed and recorded by John Cohen in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland.
The complete movie can be watched here:
folkstreams.net/films/gypsies-sing-long-ballads
I extracted the songs and used my knowledge on video editing to share them on Youtube in the highest possible quality, I used manual video upscaling (no AI was used!) for this, to further document variants of traditional ballads and songs which has been my hobby for many years. I claim no ownership of the video, all the rights belong with John Cohen.
Note about the film:
Scotland’s Travellers have lived outside mainstream society for more than 500 years. Although some of the Travelling People still live by the sides of roads, most live today in houses and are under pressure to abandon their culture. This film celebrates their traditional music, especially the long unaccompanied ballads that date back hundreds of years and have been handed down by memory through the generations.
Note by Kevin W.:
I was delighted to discover this video documentation of Scotland's greatest tradition bearers. The often poorly treated Scottish Travellers honor the memories of their ancestors through songs, music and storytelling. They are proud of their culture and kept old traditions alive for hundreds of years. Many of our most gifted traditional singers and storytellers are Travellers.
Scottish Travellers are an indigenous ethnic minority in Scotland who live or traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle and for centuries were unfairly shunned by the settled population. For that reason the singing culture of the Travelling people had not been well documented before the 20th century when non-Travellers with an interest in folklore visited and befriended Travellers and started recording their songs, music and stories.
