The coming of Spring leads Barrowsgate to think that Spring on the croft is not how it used to be and bemoans the loss of the old customs, particularly around ploughing and ploughmen.
Note: Castel o’ Auchry was a large farm near Turriff and Barrowsgate is quoting from a bothy ballad. Bothy ballads were songs sung by ploughmen and other farm servants who worked at the farms and crofts of North East Scotland. They were a mix of traditional and improvised songs. The Widny reference is from a traditional song Bonnie Udny, of which numerous different versions exist.