The Glasgow Song Guild
The Glasgow Song Guild was a protest song workshop that was organized by a Glasgow schoolteacher and songwriter, Morris Blythman, after the British government agreed to let the United States base Polaris nuclear submarines in the west of Scotland. Working with other songwriters, Blythman regarded the songs as having a communal authorship. He published these anti-Polaris songs as a booklet entitled Ding Dong Dollar and sold several editions cheaply at demonstrations and rallies. The height of the anti-Polaris protest activities in Scotland occurred from 1960 through 1962.
The Best of Broadside: 8. "Ding Dong Dollar"
"Ding Dong Dollar," also called "Dollaris," uses a familiar American tune, "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain," and biting satiric humor to get across the point. It was published in Broadside issue 3 in 1962.
The Glasgow Song Guild. Photo by Diana Davies.
Quotes from personal communication with Stephanie Smith, 2000. Text extracted from the notes by Jeff Place accompanying The Best of Broadside.
Smithsonian Folkways recordings featuring The Glasgow Song Guild:
Ding Dong Dollar: Anti-Polaris and Scottish Republican Songs (FW05444)