Spootiskerry

A Shetland reel composed in the early 1960’s by Samuel Ian Rothmar Burns, known as Ian Burns (1932-1995). It was published along with many other tunes he wrote on a self-recorded cassette entitled “Spootiskerry” (1980). The tune is named after his family’s croft (farm) near the town of Sullom, in the north west of the Shetland Islands. In Shetland dialect, “spoots” are razor clams (Ensis directus) and a “skerry” is a group of rocks a few feet below sea level, but sometimes visible at low tide. Originally spelled “Spootskerry,” the name has acquired various spellings over the years. This was Burns’ first composition and has become extremely popular because it’s much easier than it looks. In Scottish sessions it’s mostly coupled with another Shetland reel, Willafjord.