Kissin's In Season

words and tune by Paul Streater 2009

Gorse is in flooer and kissin’s in season
But I’m kissin’ nae-one, and there’s but one reason –
My fisher-lass love, she’s awa with the fleets
Tae Whitby and Grimsby and Lowestoft Quay.
I kent when I met her that we’d hae tae pairt
Though a lad frae the country may offer his heart
When a’s said and done, there’s a wage tae be earnt,
Though there’s gorse that’s in flooer richt by me.

Gorse is in flooer, the season’s for kissin’
The lass that I want is the one that I’m missin’,
And I’m walking south tae the Lothian fields,
And she’s awa tae, but she’s guttin’ at Shields.
While I’m in the fields, I’m toiling a’ day,
I ken that’s she’s workin’, she’s nae time tae play,
But I dream as I labour that some happy day
There’ll be gorse that’s in flooer richt by me.

Gorse is in flooer and kissin’s in season
The thocht o’ it a’ keeps my mind a-teasin’.
I ken I’ll nae hear frae my fisher-lass love
Till she’s back wi’ her faimly and my hairst is done.
One day we might mairry and gie up the road
And we’ll settle thegither and raise up oor brood,
But whether I’m fairming or doon in the toon,
There’ll be gorse that’s in flooer richt by me.

Words:
Gorse: Widespread, prickly wild shrub with small yellow flowers; whin
Hairst: harvest
Kent: knew

Paul says about this song:
" ‘Kissin's In Season’ came about following a week of stravaiging along the Moray coast, and enjoying the obvious contrasts between the fishing and the farming communities. The saying "When gorse is in flower, kissing's in season" or variants of it, seems quite common across the British Isles. The point is, of course, that you can always find a flower somewhere in a patch of gorse, even in the middle of the hardest weather.”

Writer Paul Streater has a long history of singing and writing in West Lothian. In 2011, renowned Scottish sculptor Tim Chalk asked local songwriters for songs about fabled Linlithgow character Katie Wearie for the unveiling of a statue of her. He chose two lines from Paul's song to engrave on the statue's base.

Paul says: “I became particularly enthusiastic about traditional Scots song largely through joining Sangschule at its start 16 years ago. I started writing songs in a more traditional style a year or so later, and have written quite a few which make use of my enthusiasm for social history. Meeting like-minded individuals through the West Lothian Songwriters' Group provided plenty of ideas, and helpful criticism!

I see song as a valuable way to explore and explain our history, at the political, social and personal level.