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April Showers Day
"One wet, early evening in the sheep-shearing season
I saw that occasional, rare thing-
A broken shaft of a rainbow with its trembling light
Beyond the downpour of the rain
And I thought of the last, wild look you gave
Before you died.
The skylark's nest was dark and desolate,
My heart was too
But I have thought of that foolish light
Ever since then
And I think that perhaps at last I know
What your look meant then."
"Ae weet forenicht i’ the yow-trummle
I saw yon antrin thing,
A watergaw wi’ its chitterin’ licht
Ayont the on-ding;
An’ I thocht o’ the last wild look ye gied
Afore ye deed!
There was nae reek i’ the laverock’s hoose
That nicht—an’ nane i’ mine;
But I hae thocht o’ that foolish licht
Ever sin’ syne;
An’ I think that mebbe at last I ken
What your look meant then."
~ Hugh MacDiarmid, The Watergaw, 1925
This tartan was designed to suggest a double rainbow in a "dreich" grey sky after a thunderstorm. The Scottish word "dreich" (meaning dreary, gloomy, bleak, miserable, grey, depressing, devoid of sunshine) was voted Scotland's most favourite word in a government poll! Though the most visible and lauded are the single bow and double rainbow, the "almost rainbow" called a "watergaw" is not continuous, but exhibits itself as a single patch, a broken fragment of rainbow which follows the end of a downpour. The word, which originated in the Borders, is probably best known as the subject of Hugh McDiarmid's poignant poem, set in cold weather after a downpour, while shearing ewes shivering with cold. The narrator espies the watergaw 'wi’ its chitterin’ licht ayont the on-ding' and ponders the passing of his father. With hopes that "April showers" truly do bring "May flowers" to all. 🌧️🌈
"If you like the weather in Scotland, wait half an hour and it will change."
~ Traditional
Ae weet forenicht i’ the yow-trummle
I saw yon antrin thing,
A watergaw wi’ its chitterin’ licht
Ayont the on-ding;
An’ I thocht o’ the last wild look ye gied
Afore ye deed!
There was nae reek i’ the laverock’s hoose
That nicht -- an’ nane i’ mine;
But I hae thocht o’ that foolish licht
Ever sin’ syne;
An’ I think that mebbe at last I ken
What your look meant then.
Hugh MacDiarmid: The Watergaw, from Sangschaw, 1925
This poem is composed in what Hugh MacDiarmid called "Synthetic Scots". His standard-English approximation:
One wet, early evening in the sheep-shearing season
I saw that occasional, rare thing --
Broken shaft of a rainbow with its trembling light
Beyond the downpour of the rain
And I thought of the last, wild look you gave
Before you died.
The skylark’s nest was dark and desolate,
My heart was too
But I have thought of that foolish light
Ever since then
And I think that perhaps at last I know
What your look meant then.
***
The proverb "March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers", first recorded in 1886,and the shorter, trochaic version "April showers bring May flowers" (originally "Sweet April showers/Do spring May flowers", part of a poem recorded in 1610 are common expressions in English speaking countries.
The phrase is referenced in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales: "Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote".
By designer Carol A.L. Martin, this tartan represents a double rainbow in a grey sky after a thunderstorm.
For a list of uniquely Scottish words and expressions for the weather, click the double rainbow over Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle.