Sam the Skull
Encyclopedia
Sam the Skull is a fictional cat, said to roam around Glasgow
, Scotland
, most famously in the song with the same name. He is often also called The Glasgow Cat.
's jaw, and he often swallows both rats and occasional dogs. It is also told that the bars on the prisoner windows are not to keep prisoners inside, they are to keep out the Skull. However, the story is that the RSPCA came to catch him in a car, but he stole the car and drove away, and now resides with a bird, in a single end in Maryhill
.
, for his album Scottish Lauglines, but it has been recorded a few times, for example by the Scottish band Gaberlunzie
.
Dug (Scots
for Lugton Dog), by Alastair McDonald, tells a story about a dog just as tough as Sam the Skull. The story ends, after the Dog tells about him eating vampire bat
s:
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, 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...
, most famously in the song with the same name. He is often also called The Glasgow Cat.
Sam the Skull
Sam the Skull is said to be a very tough cat, and in the song, written by Harry Hagan, he states that he has claws like a crocodileCrocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
's jaw, and he often swallows both rats and occasional dogs. It is also told that the bars on the prisoner windows are not to keep prisoners inside, they are to keep out the Skull. However, the story is that the RSPCA came to catch him in a car, but he stole the car and drove away, and now resides with a bird, in a single end in Maryhill
Maryhill
Maryhill is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. The population of Maryhill is about 52,000. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road...
.
The song
The song is most famously recorded by Alastair McDonaldAlastair McDonald
Alastair McDonald is a Scottish banjo-playing folk/jazz musician, probably most famous for his recordings of Jim MacLean's folk songs, such as The Barras and The massacre of Glencoe, but also for some humorous songs, such as the jazz comedy song Sam the skull, about a Glasgow cat.McDonald has...
, for his album Scottish Lauglines, but it has been recorded a few times, for example by the Scottish band Gaberlunzie
Gaberlunzie
Gaberlunzie is a medieval Scots word for a licensed beggar. The name may derive from the wallet that such people carry, but there is no other known derivation. The word appears in several of Sir Walter Scott's books...
.
Alastair McDonald's sequel
The song Tha LugtonLugton
Lugton is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 80 people. The A736 road runs through on its way from Glasgow, to the north, to Irvine in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settlement on this 'Lochlibo Road' to the north and Burnhouse is to the south...
Dug (Scots
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...
for Lugton Dog), by Alastair McDonald, tells a story about a dog just as tough as Sam the Skull. The story ends, after the Dog tells about him eating vampire bat
Vampire bat
Vampire bats are bats whose food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. There are three bat species that feed solely on blood: the Common Vampire Bat , the Hairy-legged Vampire Bat , and the White-winged Vampire Bat .All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to...
s:
- And apart frae that, thaure's a Glasgae cat, boot Ah ate him last nicht fer tea!