Spootiskerry
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legacy / Shetland
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Ian Burns
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"Spootiskerry" is a Shetland reel composed by Samuel Ian Rothmar Burns<br> (Ian Burns for short) (1932-1995). It was written in the<br> early 1960s. Ian Burns lived in Tingwall, but the title of this tune is the name of his<br> family croft near the town of Sullom, in the north west of the Shetland Islands. It was<br> originally spelt “Spootskerry”, but over the years an “i,” an “a,” or an “o” has been added,<br> thus“Spootiskerry”, “Spoot O’Skerry”, or “Spoot Askerry”. A “skerry” is a group of rocks<br> a few feet below sea level, but sometimes visible at low tide. Razor clams (Ensis directus)<br> are long cylindrical clams having shells with sharp edges and are known in the Shetland<br> islands as “spoots” – they spit out water as a defense mechanism.<br> Spootiskerry pairs well with the traditional Shetland tune "Willafjord".<br> I learned this at our Monday night jam.<br>
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