Matt McGinn, ‘Autobiography’

Abstract

Matt McGinn (1928–1977) describes himself in his autobiography as ‘a Scottish Irish mongrel’, being one of nine children born to Glaswegian parents of Irish descent. Although his formal schooling ended at the age of 12, he won a scholarship to Ruskin College, Oxford, in the late 1950s and gained a diploma in economics and political science. He subsequently trained as a teacher and spent three years in a Glasgow school before becoming a full-time folk singer and performer, using music as a means of attacking poverty, bigotry and social injustice. McGinn’s career as folk activist spanned 15 years, during which time he wrote a large number of protest songs and humorous folk ballads about Glaswegian working-class culture. His commitment to revolutionary socialism made him a staunch supporter of workers’ control of industry and a tireless fund-raiser for various left-wing causes. Following his death in a fire in his Glasgow home, some of his ashes were scattered on the grave of the revolutionary socialist John MacLean. In 1987 a celebratory volume of his work appeared, entitled McGinn of the Galton. It featured several of his best-known songs, together with excerpts from his untitled autobiography, in which he recalls his impoverished upbringing, his trade union activism and his involvement in the 1960s folk revival. The following extract is taken from the opening section, ‘The Gallowgate Calypso’.

From: McGinn of the Galton: The Ufe and Works of Matt McGinn 1928–1977, with a foreword by Jimmie Macgregor and an introduction by Janette McGinn (Glasgow: Glasgow District Libraries, 1987). 203pp.; pp. 21–6.