Page 7 - ZettaIntro

Just before my eleventh birthday, in 1963, I was introduced to sing at the folk song club.

My mother was pivotal in encouraging my early passion to learn, perform and thoroughly enjoy
traditional song and music. We often sang together where I would hold the melody and she

soared naturally in the high harmony. It made a lovely sound and in fact we performed together

many times throughout my teenage years.
Zetta was continually trying to improve her writing and create new works. She could

neither read nor write music and just relied on picking out notes on an old piano to compose

her melodies. Her songs, Dunkirk, Lullin the Littlin and the definitive song of her hometown

The Bonnie Boats o’ Buckie, were all awarded top prizes in songwriting competitions.
Articles were written about Zetta in The Scots

Magazine and other publications. The confidence that

my mother gained from the recognition of her work

brought many other rewards, including correspondence
with the Scottish poet and writer, George Mackay Brown.

By now, she was immersed in the world of traditional

folk music regularly taking part in folk festivals and
gatherings around Scotland and spending time in

Edinburgh with her good friend, legendary poet,

songwriter and intellectual, Hamish Henderson, who

rightly described Zetta as, “an important tradition-bearer,
as well as a talented singer and songwriter”.

Unfortunately, Zetta’s marriage to Geordie failed. Now in her late forties she met and

married Albert Doran, from Buckie, and returned once more to live in her birthplace. Albert, an
active liberal supporter, councillor and local headmaster was happy to embrace the world of

folk music, enjoying travelling to various festivals with my mother. Once retired, the pair spent

some time living in the beautiful Glen of Isla, which produced her delightful song, Glen Isla.

As the years progressed, my mother’s general health deteriorated further. As well as
requiring a double heart by-pass she was involved in a serious car crash requiring surgery and

lengthy recuperation. However, this did not prevent her from enjoying some overseas trips to

the USA, Romania, Italy and Holland as well as continuing her involvement with the folk song
community at home in Scotland.