The Jeely Piece Song

Story

A child playing at the foot of a tower block regrets that his mother can no longer thrown him down a piece (sandwich) and images what might happen to a jeely piece (jam sandwich) should she try.

Why we chose it

A humorous song that provides a glimpse into the lives of children growing up in post war Glasgow.

Where it came from

The song was written in the 1960s. It uses Scottish dialect words that may not be widely known. It is set at a time when post war slum clearance saw millions moved from tenements in Glasgow to high rise blocks of flats in places like Castlemilk. The song was about the Mitchell Hill Road tower blocks in Castlemilk which once housed 570 families but were demolished in 2005. In the tenements it was common for mothers to wrap a jam sandwich (jeely piece) in paper and throw it to their children two or three storeys below. It wasn’t so easy from the 20th floor of a high rise

Adam McNaughton was a teacher and became a bookseller. He sings, writes and researches both children’s traditional songs and games and the songs of Glasgow. He grew up in the East End of Glasgow.

Where it went next

The song has been sung by many other artists. The best known is probably Matt McGinn.

It came 17th in a BBC Radio Scotland poll to find Scotland’s top 20 poems.