...if I had ink of the rosy morning...

I've spent all night writing Christmas cards and I'm completely cross-eyed! I was listening to Waterson:Carthy while I was writing and these verses from When I First Came to Caledonia caught my ear...

Now if I had pen from Pennsylvania And if I had paper of snowy white And if I had ink of the rosy morning A true love letter to you I'd write, I put my foot on the deepest ocean As far from land as once I could be A-sailing over the deepest water A woman's love'd never bother me.

Isn't that lovely? Caledonia in this instance is not Scotland but a coal mine on Cape Breton island. Judging by the lyrics the song must have been written by a Scot and quite possibly one from my part of the world, as many Lewis people emigrated to Nova Scotia in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are many versions of this song but Norma Waterson's is one of the best. You can read the rest of the lyrics here.