The pipemaker referred to in this poem sent to me from New Zealand, was the late Trevor Cole who lost his battle with cancer in September 2001.

Elsie’s Chanter by Sieffe La Trobe.

There once was a man made a fine set of pipes and he sent them off to the new owner,

she happily unwrapped them and then heard a knock, so the boxes she threw on the fire,

now when she returned to assemble her pipes her eyes saw the chanter was missing

in fear and alarum she looked at the fire where the flames were a-roaring and hissing!

“Oh no!” cried the maiden, “oh what have I done? for sure it is ruined and burnt!

oh, how can I tell him what a fool I have been ‘tis indeed a hard lesson I’ve learnt!”

well, a letter she wrote and the sad tale was told of the chanter that now played in Heaven,

but the maker of pipes promised that before long a new chanter she again would be given.

as he opened his pipe case that evening to play, why, the sight was amazing before him!

two chanters for one pipe lay there on display you could hear him shout “Hey! Cockalorum!”

now the lass has her pipes and they play sweet and low or as loud as the music inspires

and ever she thinks of the night she had thought that her chanter was lost in the fire.

All’s well that ends well and now I must go, and I thank you in advance for your clapping but the story is true, and the moral is clear

to all pipers and others unwrapping... instruments sent by a courier or post check all of the boxes before burning,

for it might be yourself that gets more than you need a much harder pipe lesson for learning.