This is a Trowie (Faerie) tune from the Shetland Island of Fetlar ('the fat isle'). It was heard by a man named Garster, coming from a hole in the ground while he was resting by a Trowie Knoll (Fairy Hill) on his way home from a wedding. He attributed the tune to the trows, the island’s version of Scandinavian trolls, but others scoffed and said he must have fallen asleep and dreamt it (hence the name)
This tune came from the playing of Hans Börtas from Rättvik in Sweden. It is uncertain whether he wrote it; his name is used to distinguish this tune from the many other musically unrelated Swedish troll polskas.
This reel is a Shetland adaptation of the Irish hornpipe King of the Faeries. It was recorded in the 1950's by Shetland fiddler John Scollay, with his brother Peter on guitar. Scollay is a Shetland name of Norse origin.