What does the Scottish or Australian terms "haver" and "havering" mean?
Asked by
LuckyGuy (
43863)
November 26th, 2022
The Scottish group, The Proclaimers had a song, (I’m gonna be) 500 miles, that reached number 1 in 1989.
Here is the song with lyrics: 500 Miles
I’ve listened to it many times and still can’t figure out what they are saying. In the second verse they use the terms “Haver” and “Havering.” What does that mean?
Are there any Aussies here who can help?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
8 Answers
I saw a similar definition but it doesn’t seem to go with the meaning of the song.
I figure it is some slang term known only to Aussies.
Haver is still used in everyday speech in Scotland. I don’t know about Australia.
According to the Scots Dialect Dictionary it means:
1. To talk at random
2. To talk incoherently, or nonsensically
As a noun it means nonsense or foolish talk or a piece of folly.
A haversack originally meant a bag of oats
I’m not an Aussie, but “to babble, etc.” kind of makes sense since in that same verse he’s singing about getting drunk.
Well, that meaning isn’t what I expected! But, I get it now.
Also:
“If I get drunk, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you”
Really? Is that a compliment to her? I’d expect her to throw his ass out until he sobers up. And promises to make up all the money he spent on booze!
According to this quote he should not be spending money getting drunk.
“I’m gonna be the man who’s workin’ hard for you
And when the money comes in for the work I do
I’ll pass almost every penny on to you.”
Answer this question