'North East Nineties Rap', by Sheena Blackhall, is one of the poems from 'The Kist' -  an anthology of Scots (and Gaelic) poetry and prose that was digitised by Education Scotland and gifted to the Scots Language Centre so that teachers and learners can continue to benefit from this valuable resource.

North East Nineties Rap by Sheena Blackhall

Tweedledee telt Tweedledum
Nae room for Scots on the Curriculum.
Shakespeare, Milton, a Rodin sculpture,
Great…bit gies a smachrie o the Scottish culture.
Computin? Newton? Yer root-toot-tootin,
At wird processin we’re high-falutin!
Home Economics? It’s a rave;
We’re aa hum-dingers wi a micro-wave.
Dance an Drama…here we go
Reelin in a Doric video!
Shell-suit, trainers, T-shirt, kickers:
Sports bug clartit up wi trendy stickers.
Chinos; Levis; Pepes; Lees;
Project folder on the Pyrenees.
Hubble, bubble, the oil brings double
The price o fish and wi half the trouble.
Crisps, coke, Wimpy – we like faist food
Consumin aa the action in the neighbourhood.
Fae Banchory tae Buckie tae San Francisco,
We like tae pairty wi a roller disco!
Nineties, pine trees – deid wi acid rain;
Waste disposal dreepin doon the drain:

We are the friens o the Green revolution,
We’re the generation stopping the pollution.

Play fair auldies…leave some spare:
Save us a daud o the ozone layer!

Learning Resources

Reading

Read the poem and listen to the audio file.

If there are unfamiliar words, try to work out what they mean according to their context, or look them up using a Scots dictionary – you can use an online Scots dictionary at www.dsl.ac.uk.

Understanding

1. Summarise the points the poet makes. Wat does she say about:
   1. the school curriculum;
   2. the environment;
   3. the differences between old people and young people?

Listening and talking – group discussion

Discuss the following points in a pair or group:

1. Which languages, other than English, should be taught in schools, and why?
2. How has school changed since your parents or grandparents’ generation were at school?
3. This poem was written about the nineties, when shell-suits were in fashion and Wimpy was a popular fast food restaurant. If you were writing a poem about what life in Scotland is like now, what would you include?