"It isnae me" is a poem by Sally Holmes which was set to music by the English composer Edward Elgar

Edward Elgar

Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...

 in 1930.

The poem was first printed in Country Life

Country Life (magazine)

Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...

magazine, and the song published in 1931 by Keith Prowse & Co. Ltd

Keith Prowse

Keith Prowse is a trading name currently used by two separate companies. Within the United Kingdom it is used by the Sport, Leisure and Hospitality Division of Compass Group Plc , the company operates at numerous prestigious venues for many of the world's most iconic sporting and cultural events...

,. London.

It was written at Elgar's home "Marl Bank" near Worcester

Worcester

The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...

, dedicated to the young soprano Joan Elwes, whom he had admired at Three Choirs Festivals, and performed by her in October 1930 at a concert in Dumfries

Dumfries

Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

The poem is in the Scots language

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

.

Lyrics

IT ISNAE ME -

It isnae me that's keerin - or no an awfu lot,

But - it's sair, whiles, mindin things ye thocht ye had forgot.

An when wee Tam the Fiddler played 'The Lea Rig' doon the street,

I gied masel a shock tae find that I wis near tae greet.

It isnae me that's keerin - or no for vera lang,

But - there's mony happy times awa since last I heard yon sang.

An someway -- Och, I dinnae ken! I cannae say things richt --

I wish young Tam the Fiddler hadnae played yon sang last nicht.

Sally Holmes.

Scots translations

keerin = grieving / complaining

sair = sad

whiles = meanwhile

mindin = remembering

wee = little / young

lea rig = meadow-ridge

gied masel = gave myself

greet = cry

awa = ago

dinnae ken = don't know

Other Scots words are the same or similar to the English.

Recordings

• "The Unknown Elgar" includes "It isnae me" performed by Teresa Cahill (soprano), with Barry Collett (piano).
• Songs and Piano Music by Edward Elgar has "It isnae me" performed by Mark Wilde (tenor), with David Owen Norris (piano).