# The Music of Scotland



## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

The aim of this thread is to cover all of Scottish music - classical and non-classical - whether written by Scots, performed by Scots or simply about Scotland.

So that means we can go from Medieval plain chant through to Runrigg via the Hebridean Overture or Niel Gow or William Marshall.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Let's start with some Geminiani, who, when he wanted to teach people about good taste in music, used some Scots Tunes:






1. Auld Bob Morrice
2. Lady Ann Bothwell's Lament
3. Sleepy Body


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Welcome, Thread!* :tiphat:

I look forward to posting and to reading and learning more from anyone from any background with a bit of thistle in his/her soul (ouch!).

The tune that raises gooseflesh beyond all others for me is Flowers of the Forest, about the catastrophic death toll at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flodden

The tune is found in an early seventeenth century manuscript but may be older. The words were written by Lady Nairne in the eighteenth century -

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/...ay__The_Flowers_of_the_Forest_by_Jean_Elliot/

I don't care for most of them, but the chorus, 'The flowers of the forest are a' wede awa' ', will never lose its power to move me.






And this tune stands forever as a homage to all the sacrifices in war that the Scots :tiphat: have made before and since 1513:






My father was a Scot who joined up in the first days of the 1939-1945 war, lied about his age, and was evacuated from Dunkirk at the age of nineteen. I honour him.

But this is posted in the hope that one day we'll be able to settle disputes without going to war.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Another Scottish style is Gaelic psalm singing which is an early form of heterophony:






Professor Willie Ruff of Yale has studied this tradition in America and found that this tradition has infused much American music both African-American, white and even among the native Americans and probably lies at the roots of Jazz.






(If you are running this on firefox, then you will need Adobe Flash and also enable it)


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

A few years ago one of my Scottish friends introduced me to the music of the amazing Martyn Bennett when she played me his 'Grit' album and I was immediately hooked. He was a piper who wrote a blend of traditional, folk and classical, unlike any one else. He died aged only 33. The opening Celtic Connections concert of 2015 featured a Greg Lawson's full orchestration of 'Grit' which was simply magnificent!
Once again I failed to post a YT video so here's a link to the album's opening track - 'Move'.






Most of you will have to manage without subtitles!

And this is Danny MacAskill's bike ride of The Ridge on Skye to the accompaniment of 'Blackbird'. 
Lovely.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)




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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4_tegIZQVx9SYJti0f60dYwUJJ1NVaJT
Stabat Mater by James MacMillan here. Written in 2015. I've heard it several times and recommend it to everyone here


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4_tegIZQVx9SYJti0f60dYwUJJ1NVaJT
> Stabat Mater by James MacMillan here. Written in 2015. I've heard it several times and recommend it to everyone here


We didn't know about him! Gorgeous. Thank you! :tiphat:


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Ingélou said:


> We didn't know about him! Gorgeous. Thank you! :tiphat:


Pretty well anything written by MacMillan is worth checking out. This is a nice thread. I will ponder on this a while before posting.


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## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

I think these guys have so much fun
I also want to be as active, as the older, member of the group when I get to that age


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

If this doesny huv ye greetin' then ye must truly hae a hert o' stane!!*

*a translation (if required) may be obtained from yours truly.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

The locals aren't singing many songs at the moment. They're too terrified of England doing well in the World Cup. It's the quietest I've ever known it up here. Lol


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## Vronsky (Jan 5, 2015)




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## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

A favorite of mine.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

A bit of Scottish folk. Lee Patterson has been knocking round the circuit for years and often plays Whistle Binkies in Edinburgh. Mrs Merl wouldn't let me have this as our wedding song. Lol.


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

Merl said:


> The locals aren't singing many songs at the moment. They're too terrified of England doing well in the World Cup. It's the quietest I've ever known it up here. Lol


It is the school hols though Merl, everyone's gone to Blackpool as usual :lol:


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)




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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Two somewhat different musical dedications to the Highland woman who confessed to being a witch in 1662. As she confessed without any kind of coercion to a catalogue of sins rather than being accused of them it's possible that she was a deluded attention-seeker (she may have been mentally unstable) who was guilty of nothing more than trying to wind up the authorities. Some of her admissions are completely ludicrous but that kind of thing was taken very seriously back then. It's worth reading the Wikipedia entry on her.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

For the uninitiated, this is Horse Macdonald, singer, songwriter and gay activist. She's been knocking around for donkeys years and is a big fave of Mrs M. I've seen her about 5 times too, now. She has a great voice. This is the best track off her last album 'Home'.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

A few more Scottish favourites






































In no particular order, Annie Lennox, John Martyn, Jack Bruce, Jackie Leven, Robin Williamson (solo and with ISB), Gerry Rafferty, Julie Fowlis and Bert Jansch.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

A classical pick:


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> A classical pick:


Thanks for posting. :tiphat:
I'm listening at the moment, and though it's very much of its day, and I'm not really into romantic music, I am enjoying it. I think it's nice.
I'd never heard of him, of course -  nothing new there - and was interested to read about his rather short life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamish_MacCunn

Lovely the way so many people are posting. And so much variety. It's fab. :tiphat:
But I've had to break my rule of not putting 'like' on these Scottish pieces until I've listened to them* - I'll get on to them later today after a cup of coffee and duet fiddle/concertina practice with Taggart. 

* (I hope I'll be able to listen to everything that's recommended on this thread. If I'm spared!)


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## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

a wee bit more of classical


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

If you don't object to the Sassenachs getting in on the act Fairport Convention also did a fine version of _Flowers of the Forest_ (from their 1970 album _Full House_):






And, as a bonus in keeping with the Scottish theme, here's their rendition of _Sir Patrick Spens_ from the same album:


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

From the modern side of the tradition - Dougie Maclean






and a more traditional singer - Dick Gaughan






singing one of Hamish Henderson's songs. Shame that site doesn't have a link to his "John Maclean's March"
 Dick Gaughan's site does and is a great place to find lyrics.






Gaughan, like Matt McGinn and Haimsh Imlach, tends towards the more political side of the folk singing spectrum.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

elgars ghost said:


> Two somewhat different musical dedications to the Highland woman who confessed to being a witch in 1662. As she confessed without any kind of coercion to a catalogue of sins rather than being accused of them it's possible that she was a deluded attention-seeker (she may have been mentally unstable) who was guilty of nothing more than trying to wind up the authorities. Some of her admissions are completely ludicrous but that kind of thing was taken very seriously back then. It's worth reading the Wikipedia entry on her.


Thanks very much. I've listened to both these now.

The Alex Harvey is from 'my era', when I was enjoying listening to progressive folk like Steeleye Span, so it's pretty much up my street.

However, it comes as a bit of an anticlimax to the Macmillan piece, which I found stunning.

I think a lot of the impact had to do with the story, though. That was also pretty much up my street - I've always loved history, have Scottish blood, and did an MA thesis on the meeting of folklore and religion in the traditional/ Child ballads (things like The Bitter Withy & The Cherry Tree Carol). A helpful book that was on my shelf for most of that period was Keith Thomas' Religion and the Decline of Magic, which used material from the Essex Witch Trials.

As a Catholic myself, I could also empathise with Macmillan's wish to bring Isobel Gowdie the absolution and peace that she was denied in life.

Whether I'd have felt so moved by this music without the context support is doubtful, but anyway, I'm very pleased to have had the experience, and I owe it all to you. :tiphat:

But poor Isobel Gowdie.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Glad you liked it.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

A big mention should go out to one of the local bands from my youth - Big Country.

I always felt the twin guitar sound they created at times did a very reasonable impression of a electronic manic bagpipe.
Try Fields of Fire for example:






or the eponymous Big Country:






Stuart Adamson was a genuinely nice bloke who unfortunately succumbed to the pressures of the music business.
RIP mate.


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## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)

James DILLON: _The Soadie Waste_ (2003)
:: Kawai & Arditti String Quartet [NMC '07]

This exuberant work, with the John Fahey_esque_ subtitle "wedding receptions, dances and housie housie," is as insistently energetic and quirkily volatile a piano quintet as you'll likely encounter, one haunted by the half abstract and half mad "spirit of the dance"-something that Berlioz might have composed had he been a 21st-century avant-garde composer from Scotland. It makes a fairly dazzling impression in the hands of Kawai and the Ardittis, whose pointed, highly charged performance has infectious energy and drive.


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

The late and much missed Michael Marra


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2018)




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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Tulse said:


>


You're hilarious Tulse. In tribute to Alan Longmuir I presume.


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2018)

Okay, more seriously, here is a bit of an outlier. Sandy Denny's talent must surely have come from her Hebridean grandmother who was also a singer.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Dirge said:


> James DILLON: _The Soadie Waste_ (2003)
> :: Kawai & Arditti String Quartet [NMC '07]
> 
> This exuberant work, with the John Fahey_esque_ subtitle "wedding receptions, dances and housie housie," is as insistently energetic and quirkily volatile a piano quintet as you'll likely encounter, one haunted by the half abstract and half mad "spirit of the dance"-something that Berlioz might have composed had he been a 21st-century avant-garde composer from Scotland. It makes a fairly dazzling impression in the hands of Kawai and the Ardittis, whose pointed, highly charged performance has infectious energy and drive.


If by exuberant you mean random, haphazard and unfocused then exuberant it is! Not without a certain quirky charm but not for the faint-hearted reactionary I fear. Glad to have heard it, equally glad to never hear it again!


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2018)

Legendary Shetland fiddler Aly Bain.






He's still good. i saw him a year or two back.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Is it time yet to mention Kenneth MacKellar, Moira Anderson and Andy Stewart or is it still too soon.:lol:


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2018)

. .


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2018)

I was going to do Andy Stewart but I've had my joke post.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)




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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

starthrower said:


>


A truly wonderful guitarist.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Barbebleu said:


> Is it time yet to mention Kenneth MacKellar, Moira Anderson and Andy Stewart or is it still too soon.:lol:


Not at all. I learned the lyrics of both Scottish and Irish traditional songs by playing over and over again the Kenneth McKellar LPs that we had. McKellar's style may sound dated now, but he had a wonderful voice. :tiphat:






He also really *wasn't* the straitlaced person most people take him for.

I don't want an infraction, so I won't be posting the link to his interesting version of a well-known obscene Scottish song about a Ball, 'A rare gem from the 1970s that was only circulated around recording and broadcasting studios for private delectation', which is available on YouTube. :lol:

As for Andy Stewart - 'Taggart' went to see him in Aberdeen in the 1960s when he was working in the dairies there as a student in the summer holidays (Taggart, not Andy Stewart  ). Stewart had taken the trouble to learn all the topical local references and had a brilliant rapport with his audience. He knew a lot about traditional Scottish songs, so here's The Muckin' o Geordie's Byre, although I'm afraid it probably does need subtitles:






I can't find anything that I really like of Moira Anderson's on YouTube, but I remember I used to like her version of 'Old Maid in a Garret' - that's because I was afraid I might become one !

'And if I canna get a man, I will surely get a parrot!'
_(Actually, maybe there was something to be said for it...)_


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Tulse said:


>


When this thread started, I made a rule for myself that I was going to listen to every single item that was posted.
Oh dear - what have I done? :lol:


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Nearly forgot the Alexander Brothers and Sydney Devine. Apparently Sydney wanted to change his name to a symbol and become the artist formerly known as mince!!


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Scottish bloke sings about English history, and does it well:






(I always think that Gaughan's vocal chords are suffused with virility.  )


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Barbebleu said:


> Nearly forgot the Alexander Brothers and Sydney Devine. Apparently Sydney wanted to change his name to a symbol and become the artist formerly known as mince!!


I was just about to post "Nobody's Child" when I suddenly realised that Ingélou would have to listen to it.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)




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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

Capercaillie is a Scottish folk band that was founded in the 1980s by Donald Shaw and led by Karen Matheson. Capercaillie performs traditional Gaelic and contemporary English songs. The group adapts traditional Gaelic music and traditional lyrics with modern production techniques and instruments such as electric guitar and bass guitar, though rarely synthesizers or drum machines.

Originating from Argyll, a region of western Scotland, the band is named after the Western capercaillie, sometimes called a wood grouse, a native Scottish bird. Their first album, Cascade, was recorded in 1984. (Sheena Easton is another native Scottish bird and a right fine one at that).

Their 1992 EP, A Prince Among Islands, was the first Scottish Gaelic-language record to have a single that reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart: "Coisich A Ruin" peaked at #39. Another single, "Dark Alan (Ailein duinn)" reached No. 65 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1995.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

Two versions of the same tune - I don't know which is sadder...






This following video is really quite grainy but that is secondary to its poignancy...


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

And what would the "Music of Scotland" be without this -


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Bringing back a classical slant - I believe Thea Musgrave's music deserves to be heard more than it seems to be.
I would suggest the following disc as a decent starting point for someone interested in her work - well it is one of my favourite discs by a Scottish composer, modern accessible music!

View attachment 105427


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)




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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

Alba gu bràth!

- Syd


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, CH, DBE (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She has been profoundly deaf since the age of 12 and claims to have taught herself to hear with parts of her body other than her ears.

Astonishing percussionist, just absolutely astonishing...


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in England. Early on, he mastered a sizable repertoire of folk and blues songs and had a hit at 18 with his first single, "Catch the Wind." He soon thereafter made an artistic breakthrough with a unique sound and style that fused folk, blues, jazz, classical, Latin and Indian elements. Donovan's fruitful union with producer Mickie Most and arranger John Cameron yielded much stylistically far-ranging work during the Sixties.

Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

Easton was born Sheena Shirley Orr in the Scottish town of Bellshill, the youngest of six children of steel mill labourer Alex Orr and his wife Annie.

Easton's first two singles, "Modern Girl" and "Morning Train (Nine to Five)", both entered the UK Top Ten, and she was the first UK female artist to appear twice in the same Top Ten since Ruby Murray. In 1981, "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" topped the US Hot 100, making her the third UK female solo artist to achieve this, following Petula Clark and Lulu, and she became one of the most successful British female performers of the 1980s.

Easton became the first and only artist in history to have a Top 5 hit on five different Billboard charts consecutively, with "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" (both Pop and Adult Contemporary), "We've Got Tonight" with Kenny Rogers (Country) and "Sugar Walls" (both R&B and Dance).


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

Martyn Bennett (17 February 1971 - 30 January 2005) was a Canadian-Scottish musician who was influential in the evolution of modern Celtic fusion, a blending of traditional Celtic and modern music. He was a piper, violinist, composer and producer. He was an innovator and his compositions crossed musical and cultural divides. Sporting dreadlocks at the height of his performing career, his energetic displays led to descriptions such as "the techno piper". Diagnosis of serious illness at the age of thirty curtailed his live performances, although he completed a further two albums in the studio. He died fifteen months after release of his fifth album Grit.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

A last but by no means least tune from me -


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Sydney Nova Scotia said:


> Easton was born Sheena Shirley Orr in the Scottish town of Bellshill


Used to be a nice town when the steel works were running. Now it's just run down.


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

Sydney Nova Scotia said:


> Martyn Bennett (17 February 1971 - 30 January 2005) was a Canadian-Scottish musician who was influential in the evolution of modern Celtic fusion, a blending of traditional Celtic and modern music. He was a piper, violinist, composer and producer. He was an innovator and his compositions crossed musical and cultural divides. Sporting dreadlocks at the height of his performing career, his energetic displays led to descriptions such as "the techno piper". Diagnosis of serious illness at the age of thirty curtailed his live performances, although he completed a further two albums in the studio. He died fifteen months after release of his fifth album Grit.


Good to see another Bennett fan! See my earlier post - July 5th Post 05


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

LezLee said:


> Good to see another Bennett fan! See my earlier post - July 5th Post 05


My apologies for having inadvertently overstepped your post! I actually watched both of the videos you posted and as I did further research for this thread I lost my way meandering around and didn't realize that I had added a secondary mention to your primary - but one can never have too much Martyn Bennett and so I hope that all is forgiven!

Here's the video of a documentary made about his release "Grit" -






Best wishes -

Syd


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

Sydney Nova Scotia said:


> My apologies for having inadvertently overstepped your post! I actually watched both of the videos you posted and as I did further research for this thread I lost my way meandering around and didn't realize that I had added a secondary mention to your primary - but one can never have too much Martyn Bennett and so I hope that all is forgiven!
> 
> Here's the video of a documentary made about his release "Grit" -
> 
> ...


Thanks Syd. Yes I've got the video. BBC Scotland showed it after their Grit recording so I've got both. There was also a biographical 'drama' by Cora Bissett - part musical theatre, part ballet, part acrobatics. It featured some of Martyn's own recordings and some of Grit. It was superb, the bloke playing Martyn was brilliant as was the young woman playing his wife. It was only a matinée, but was sold out and got several standing ovations with quite a few people in tears.

"Grit: The Martyn Bennett Story was created by Cora Bissett as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games cultural programme.[After being conceived by Bissett, it was written by Kieran Hurley. Bisset directed the show, having worked in close collaboration with his friends and family to create it. It premiered at the Tramway in Glasgow in May 2014, then was performed in Mull. It was named event of the year at the 2014 Scots Trad Music Awards"

There are a few recordings by his mother Margaret too.

I'm forever grateful to my friend for all this, she actually saw Martyn perform, while I, being English, had never heard of him!


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## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)




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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

There was an earlier mention of guitarist Stuart Adamson and his work with Big Country. Few people know that before forming that group he was a founding member of Skids (no "The" preceding "Skids".

Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jobson (vocals, guitar and keyboards). Their biggest success was the 1979 single "Into the Valley" and the 1980 album The Absolute Game.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

Average White Band (also AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track "Pick Up the Pieces", and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake. The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett. They have influenced others such as the Brand New Heavies, and been sampled by various musicians including the Beastie Boys, TLC, The Beatnuts, Too Short, Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas, and A Tribe Called Quest, Christina Milian, as well as Arrested Development - making them the 15th most sampled act in history.

n 1975, the single "Pick Up the Pieces" - taken from the No. 1 AWB album - reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song knocked Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" out of No. 1 and sold over one million copies. It was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1975. It also prompted The J.B.'s, the backup band of the "Godfather of Soul", James Brown, to record and release a song in reply, "Pick Up the Pieces, One by One", under the name AABB (Above Average Black Band). It was both a tribute to AWB's knowledge of funk and a tongue-in-cheek play on the Scottish band's name.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

Back to classical...

"The Scottish Fantasy in E-flat major, Op. 46, is a composition for violin and orchestra by Max Bruch. Completed in 1880, it was dedicated to the virtuoso violinist Pablo de Sarasate.
It is a four-movement fantasy on Scottish folk melodies. The first movement is built on "Through the Wood Laddie". This tune, with its prominent Scots snap, also appears at the end of the second and fourth movements. The second movement is built around "The Dusty Miller", the third on "I'm A' Doun for Lack O' Johnnie", and the fourth movement includes a sprightly arrangement of "Hey Tuttie Tatie", the tune in the patriotic anthem "Scots Wha Hae" (with lyrics by Robert Burns).
Although Bruch only visited Scotland a year after the premiere, he had access to a collection of Scottish music at Munich library in 1868. In paying homage to Scottish tradition, the work gives a prominent place to the harp in the instrumental accompaniment to the violin."


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)

And a bit more classical...

"The Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, known as the Scottish, is a symphony by Felix Mendelssohn, composed between 1829 and 1842.

Mendelssohn was initially inspired to compose this symphony during his first visit to Britain in 1829. After a series of successful performances in London, Mendelssohn embarked on a walking tour of Scotland with his friend Karl Klingemann. On 30 July, Mendelssohn visited the ruins of Holyrood Chapel at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, where, as he related to his family in a letter, he received his initial inspiration for the piece: 
"In the deep twilight we went today to the palace were Queen Mary lived and loved...The chapel below is now roofless. Grass and ivy thrive there and at the broken altar where Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything is ruined, decayed, and the clear heavens pour in. I think I have found there the beginning of my 'Scottish' Symphony."
Alongside this description, Mendelssohn enclosed in his letter a scrap of paper with the opening bars of what would become the symphony's opening theme. A few days later Mendelssohn and his companion visited the western coast of Scotland and the island of Staffa, which in turn inspired the composer to start the Hebrides. After completing the first version of the Hebrides, Mendelssohn continued to work on his initial sketches of what would become Symphony No. 3 while touring Italy. However, he struggled to make progress, and after 1831 set the piece aside.

It is not known exactly when Mendelssohn resumed work on the symphony (sketches suggest he may have returned to the first movement in the late 1830s) but he was certainly working in earnest on the piece by 1841 and completed the symphony in Berlin on 20 January 1842."


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2018)




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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Sydney Nova Scotia said:


> There was an earlier mention of guitarist Stuart Adamson and his work with Big Country. Few people know that before forming that group he was a founding member of Skids (no "The" preceding "Skids".
> 
> Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jobson (vocals, guitar and keyboards). Their biggest success was the 1979 single "Into the Valley" and the 1980 album The Absolute Game.


Dunfermline Athletic Football Club still play Into the Valley by the Skids to accompany their team taking the field at home games.
When time permitted Stuart could be found in the stands watching his beloved Pars.


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

The early Renaissance composer Robert Carver (c.1485-c.1570) was a Scotsman!:



















Mark Knopfler of the band Dire Straits was born in Glasgow, where he spent at least part of his childhood, I believe. Knopfler composed the soundtrack to one of my favorite (Scottish) films of the 1980s, "Local Hero", written and directed by Bill Forsyth.


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)

Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The story involves two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every 100 years. Tommy, one of the tourists, falls in love with Fiona, a young woman from Brigadoon.


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)

Jethro Tull founder Ian Anderson was born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, the youngest of three siblings. His father, James Anderson, ran the RSA Boiler Fluid Company in East Port, Dunfermline.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Syd:

"Lovely story, quite touching really... Any chance that Alloa Athletic F.C. (22 km) or Falkirk F.C. (30 km) play this tune?" 

Given the local rivalries that exist between local sides the tune isn't to my knowledge used by those teams taking the field - but like any rousing tune it may at times be played over the PA system as general musical entertainment.


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)

"Thomas Alexander Erskine, 6th Earl of Kellie (1 September 1732 - 9 October 1781), styled Viscount Fentoun and Lord Pittenweem until 1756, was a Scottish musician and composer whose considerable talent brought him international fame and his rakish habits notoriety, but nowadays is little known. Recent recordings of his surviving compositions have led to him being re-evaluated as one of the most important British composers of the 18th century, as well as a prime example of Scotland's music."

"Until the 1970s only a small number of his compositions was thought to survive, though the discovery in 1989 of two manuscripts containing chamber works at Kilravock Castle has doubled the number of his surviving compositions - notably with nine trio sonatas and nine string quartets. Interest in him was recently revived by John Purser, among others, and a CD of his works has now been made."






Was very pleasantly surprised by both the ensemble (who appear to be from the Czech Republic) and the sinfonia itself.


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)

"In the mid-eighteenth century a group of Scottish composers including *James Oswald* and William McGibbon created the "Scots drawing room style", taking primarily Lowland Scottish tunes and making them acceptable to a middle class audience."


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)

In the mid-eighteenth century a group of Scottish composers including James Oswald and *William McGibbon* created the "Scots drawing room style", taking primarily Lowland Scottish tunes and making them acceptable to a middle class audience.

Someone who has far more expertise than me would need to explain just exactly what was done to make them acceptable to a middle class audience... and just what exactly was so objectionable to them in the first place...


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Willie o Winsbury (Child 100) - ballad from Scottish sources; my favourite version, by Pentangle.






Just to say that I've rescinded my self-imposed rule that I must listen to every single item on this fabulously prolific :tiphat: thread.

Life's too short - or the time left over would be! :lol:


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)




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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)

Ingélou said:


> Just to say that I've rescinded my self-imposed rule that I must listen to every single item on this fabulously prolific :tiphat: thread.
> 
> Life's too short - or the time left over would be! :lol:


Well, if not in this life, surely then in the next, eh?


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)

This is being used to demonstrate the concept of the spoken voice as an instrument used in the expression of verbal lyricism...






*Address to a Haggi*s

_Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, 
Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye worthy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
While thro your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit' hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect scunner,
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whissle;
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
Like taps o thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis"_

*Address to a Haggis Translation
*
"Good luck to you and your honest, plump face,
Great chieftain of the sausage race!
Above them all you take your place,
Stomach, tripe, or intestines:
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm.

The groaning trencher there you fill,
Your buttocks like a distant hill,
Your pin would help to mend a mill
In time of need,
While through your pores the dews distill
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour wipe,
And cut you up with ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like any ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm steaming, rich!

Then spoon for spoon, the stretch and strive:
Devil take the hindmost, on they drive,
Till all their well swollen bellies by-and-by
Are bent like drums;
Then old head of the table, most like to burst, 
'The grace!' hums.

Is there that over his French ragout,
Or olio that would sicken a sow,
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust,
Looks down with sneering, scornful view
On such a dinner?

Poor devil! see him over his trash,
As feeble as a withered rush,
His thin legs a good whip-lash,
His fist a nut;
Through bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit.

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his ample fist a blade,
He'll make it whistle;
And legs, and arms, and heads will cut off
Like the heads of thistles.

You powers, who make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare,
Old Scotland wants no watery stuff,
That splashes in small wooden dishes;
But if you wish her grateful prayer, 
Give her [Scotland] a Haggis!"

Not quite certain exactly why I felt that it was really necessary to provide a completely extraneous "translation" as it seems to be fairly clear and straightforward -

"_Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
'Bethankit' hums._"


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Ingélou said:


> Just to say that I've rescinded my self-imposed rule that I must listen to every single item on this fabulously prolific thread.
> Life's too short - or the time left over would be! :lol:





Sydney Nova Scotia said:


> Well, if not in this life, surely then in the next, eh?


Not so sure that I would be bothering with recordings then. In the next life, I hope to hear Oswald's and McGibbon's actual musicians and celestial fiddlers Niel Gow and William Marshall playing their own compositions. 
See you there!

Niel Gow - I love him and his whole family.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niel_Gow

My latest fiddle project - a labour of love - is to learn to play by ear all the tunes on the cd Even Now by Pete Clark.

There is so much by Niel Gow that I love, but I'll pick this one, his Lament for his Second Wife played by Iain Fraser, as a sample; in a month or so we'll be going up to Iain Fraser's music school holiday at Abbotsford for the second year running:






It was such fun last year - I can hardly wait.


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2018)

Ingélou said:


> Not so sure that I would be bothering with recordings then. In the next life, I hope to hear Oswald's and McGibbon's actual musicians and celestial fiddlers Niel Gow and William Marshall playing their own compositions.
> See you there!
> 
> Niel Gow - I love him and his whole family.
> ...


Have you ever attended this? -

https://niel-gow.co.uk/archive.htm


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Sydney Nova Scotia said:


> Have you ever attended this? -
> 
> https://niel-gow.co.uk/archive.htm


No - we'd love to, but our circumstances haven't permitted. But I hope to do so another year, as I really admire Pete Clark's playing.

We do have the cd pictured on the link, 'Niel Gow's Fiddle' - I like it, but not as much as 'Even Now', the earlier Niel Gow cd that Pete Clark produced. (It's out of print now, so we had to buy an mp3 for us, and later managed to get a used cd for my fiddle teacher.)


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

There is an issue of copyright for song lyrics. Please stop posting lyrics of modern songs until we have a chance to discuss how to proceed. In general modern songs are copyrighted and simply posting lyrics can be an infringement of copyright law.


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

A German counter-tenor singing the old (Samuel Pepys liked it) Scottish ballad, Barbara Allen:






I love this treatment.


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## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)




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## Guest (Jul 9, 2018)

Dirge said:


>


Never heard this version despite being quite a fan of Richard Thompson - thank you for providing it!

This is the version that this Maritimer knows best - and sang along to with enthusiasm if not talent!






RIP - Roy Williamson


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2018)

"The Tannahill Weavers are a band which performs traditional Scottish music. Releasing their first album in 1976, they became notable for being one of the first popular bands to incorporate the sound of the Great Highland Bagpipe in an ensemble setting, and in doing so helped to change the sound of Scottish traditional music. In 2011 the band were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame."


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2018)

"Silly Wizard was a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students-Gordon Jones (guitar, bodhran, vocals, bouzouki, mandola), and Bob Thomas (guitar, mandolin, mandola, banjo, concertina). In January 1972, Jones and Thomas formed a trio with their flatmate Bill Watkins (guitar, vocals, fiddle) and performed occasionally (unpaid) under various band names in Edinburgh folk clubs. In the spring of 1972, Watkins returned to Birmingham and, in June 1972, Chris Pritchard (vocals) came in as his replacement. In July 1972, this newly formed trio were offered their first paid booking at the Burns Monument Hotel, Brig O' Doune, Scotland, and needed a band name in a hurry. The name "Silly Wizard" was chosen and the continuing stream of bookings ensured that the name became permanent. In September 1972, the trio recruited a rather youthful Johnny Cunningham (1957-2003) (fiddle, viola, mandola, vocals) and Silly Wizard started to take off."


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2018)

"Their first album, called Boys of the Lough (1972) consisted of Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathal McConnell (flute), Dick Gaughan (vocals and guitar) and Robin Morton (bodhran and vocals).

Since the 1960s the Forrest Hill Bar in Edinburgh had been a centre for folk singers and instrumentalists. In the pub, always nicknamed "Sandy Bell's" and now formally called that, fiddler Aly Bain played along with singer/guitarists Mike Whellans and Dick Gaughan in sessions. Aly Bain was from the Shetland Islands, and steeped in the Shetland style of playing.

Meanwhile in Ireland, Cathal McConnell was an All-Ireland champion in both flute and whistle. He was from a family of flute players in County Fermanagh in Ireland. Cathal's musical collaborators were Tommy Gunn and Robin Morton. The two halves met at Falkirk folk festival in Scotland, and formed Boys of the Lough.

Gaughan left to pursue a solo career and the Northumberland musician Dave Richardson (concertina, mandolin, cittern) joined.
This line-up (without Gaughan) was constant for the next six albums. Dave Richardson was also a writer of new material. They played ensemble instrumentals and the occasional song, equally divided between traditional sources from Ireland and Scotland."


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2018)

"Battlefield Band are a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band. 
The band is noted for their combination of bagpipes with other instruments, most notably on their cover of "Bad Moon Rising", and for its mix of traditional songs and new material."

On 11 November 2016, Battlefield Band were inducted into Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame for "Services to Performance"


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

From one of their early albums - Home is Where the Van is - Lad's of the Fair






We saw the group just after this LP had come out. They were doing a gig up at the Traveller's Rest in Gilesgate (Durham city, now closed) and were still using a portative organ. (!) They were actually being auditioned as a support act for a Boys of the Lough concert coming up later that year. Robin Morton had just left the Boys of the Lough to set up Temple records and he took on and promoted the Battlefield Band and helped them achieve the success their talents deserved. We saw both the Battlefield Band and Boys of the Lough many times in Durham as it was a thriving folk scene.

Unfortunately, most of the stuff on You Tube is the Irish side of Boys of Lough.

PS I've removed the video because this thread was getting a bit difficult to load for some people as there were so many videos. It might help them if you simply put up description and a link.


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2018)

Taggart said:


> From one of their early albums - Home is Where the Van is - Lad's of the Fair
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes I will do that and thank you for the advice as I do wish to make the thread as accessible as possible for everyone. I can remove the second video of those posts which still allow me to make edits.

At some point I will return to the folk-oriented artists and post links to the tunes which are most representative of who and what they are - I chose live videos due to a comment that I made in the "Live Album" thread in which I wrote - "Any Celtic artist's live albums... the interaction between artist and audience always inspires the best in each...".

I swapped out the Boys of the Lough tune... much better choice than the original that I had posted and removed the second of those posts which contained two.

Ta! - Syd


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Glasgow born composer Oliver Knussen's death aged 66 was announced today.

Sorry to dampen such an enthusiastic thread with such news - to be fair Knussen was born in Glasgow but was raised around London so maybe the Scottish connection is a little tenuous.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Two posts were deleted because they contained written song lyrics. We believe that is a violation of copyright law. Links to songs are fine, but please refrain from including lyrics in the posts.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Malx said:


> ...to be fair Knussen was born in Glasgow but was raised around London so maybe the Scottish connection is a little tenuous.


Never seemed to worry Rod Stewart much. :devil:


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2018)

elgars ghost said:


> Never seemed to worry Rod Stewart much. :devil:



View attachment 105512


The following article is entitled - "Rod Stewart's 1978 World Cup Song For Scotland" -

https://retroculturati.com/2015/10/04/rod-stewarts-1978-world-cup-song-for-scotland/

Allow me to extend sincere apologies to Taggart for gratuitously dragging up the bitter dregs of defeat 40 years after the fact...

Rod Stewart - "Ole, Ola"






Rod Stewart - "Que Sera Sera, Scotland" - 1978 World Cup song






Ally's Tartan Army - Scotland 1978






I'm afraid that this too is "The Music of Scotland", my friends... My apologies for having insisted upon being a completist but all stories must be told - even those we would rather never ever hear again...


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2018)

John Charles McDermott (born 25 March 1955) is a Scottish-Canadian tenor best known for his rendering of the songs "Danny Boy" and "Loch Lomond". Born in Glasgow, Scotland, John moved with his family to Willowdale, Toronto, Canada in 1965.

"Loch Lomond (By Yon Bonnie Banks)" - 




"The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond", or simply "Loch Lomond" for short, is a well-known traditional Scottish song first published in 1841 in Vocal Melodies of Scotland.The song prominently features Loch Lomond, the largest Scottish loch, located between the counties of Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire.

"Caledonia" - 




"Caledonia" is a modern Scottish folk ballad written by Dougie MacLean in 1977. The chorus of the song features the lyric "Caledonia, you're calling me, and now I'm going home", the term "Caledonia" itself being a Latin word for Scotland. The song became the most popular of all MacLean's recordings and something of an anthem for Scotland

"My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean" - 




Although the song's origin is uncertain, its subject may be Charles Edward Stuart ('Bonnie Prince Charlie') after the defeat of the Prince at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and his subsequent exile, his Jacobite supporters could have sung the tune in his honour; and thanks to the ambiguity of the term "bonnie", which can refer to a woman as well as to a man, they could pretend it was a love song.

"Lachin Y Gair (Dark Loch Nagar)" - 




"Lachin y Gair", often known as "Dark Lochnagar" or "Loch na Garr", is a poem by George Gordon Byron, written in 1807. It discusses the author's childhood in north east Scotland, when he used to visit Lochnagar in Highland Aberdeenshire. The work has been set to a tune attributed to Sir Henry Bishop, and remains a popular standard in Scottish folk music.

As the Penguin Book of Scottish Verse says:
"There are few major English poets who can be heard sung in peasant bothies among the more native fare, but Byron's Lachin A Gair is a popular favourite, and those sophisticated critics who sneer at the poem but don't know the tune should hear it sung by a farm-labourer's 'tenore robusto'.

"The Skye Boat Song" - 




The Skye Boat Song" is a modern Scottish song which has entered into the folk canon in recent times. It can be played as a waltz, recalling the escape of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) from Uist to the Isle of Skye after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The text of the song gives an account of how Bonnie Prince Charlie, disguised as a serving maid, escaped in a small boat after the defeat of his Jacobite rising of 1745, with the aid of Flora MacDonald. The song draws on the motifs of Jacobitism although it was composed nearly a century and a half over the episode it describes


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

mmsbls said:


> Two posts were deleted because they contained written song lyrics. We believe that is a violation of copyright law. Links to songs are fine, but please refrain from including lyrics in the posts.


On our Goodreads 'Amazon Exiles' forum we have a Follow The Lyrics thread and I was asking about this. The moderator said this:

" The websites that most of us copy them from won't have copyright authorization, either. And we're not publishing them (Amazon, owner of Goodreads is) or profiting from their reproduction. If a copyright owner asks us to take their lyrics down and we don't, then we'd be in trouble."
"Youtube doesn't get sued for every music video someone posts there. But if it failed to take down a video after a request from the copyright owner, it would be liable to be sued."


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2018)

View attachment 105616


"Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945 in Glasgow) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of characters and events from history.

Stewart is best known for his 1976 hit single "Year of the Cat", the title song from the platinum album of the same name. Though Year of the Cat and its 1978 platinum follow-up "Time Passages" brought Stewart his biggest worldwide commercial successes, earlier albums such as "Past, Present and Future" from 1973 are often seen as better examples of his intimate brand of historical folk-rock - a style to which he returned in later albums.

Both albums reached the top ten in the US, with Year of the Cat peaking at No. 5 and Time Passages at No. 10, and both albums produced hit singles in the US ("Year of the Cat" No. 8, and "On the Border", #42; "Time Passages" No. 7 and "Song on the Radio", #29). Meanwhile, "Year of the Cat" became Stewart's first chart single in Britain, where it peaked at No. 31. It was a huge success at London's Capital Radio, reaching number 2 on their Capital Countdown chart. The overwhelming success of these songs on the two albums, both of which still receive substantial radio airplay on classic-rock/pop format radio stations, has perhaps later overshadowed the depth and range of Stewart's body of songwriting

Stewart was a key figure in British music and he appears throughout the musical folklore of the revivalist era. He played at the first-ever Glastonbury Festival in 1970, knew Yoko Ono before she met John Lennon, shared a London flat with a young Paul Simon, and hosted at the Les Cousins folk club in London in the 1960s."

"Year of the Cat" - 




"On the Border" - 




"Time Passages" - 




"Song on the Radio" -


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2018)

View attachment 105618


"The Proclaimers are a Scottish duo composed of the identical twin brothers Charlie and Craig Reid (born 5 March 1962). They are best known for their songs "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", "Sunshine on Leith", "I'm On My Way" and "Letter from America", and their singing style with a Scottish accent.

The pair came to public attention when an Inverness-based fan sent their demo to the English band the Housemartins, who were impressed enough to invite the Proclaimers on their 1986 United Kingdom tour. The exposure of the tour won them a January 1987 appearance on the British pop music television programme The Tube on Channel Four; "Letter from America" peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart, while the album This Is the Story went gold.

The follow-up album Sunshine on Leith featured the singles "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", which went to number one in Australia and New Zealand, and "I'm On My Way". They had a hit with their EP King of the Road, which reached number nine in the UK in 1990. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" belatedly peaked at number three in the US in 1993.

They are well-known supporters of Scottish independence and have, at various stages of their lives, been activists for the Scottish National Party, expressing such views during their promotional tour of Britain in March 2007."

"Letter From America" - 




"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - 




"Sunshine On Leith" - 




"I'm On My Way" -


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2018)

View attachment 105619


"Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jobson (vocals, guitar and keyboards). Their biggest success was the 1979 single "Into the Valley" and the 1980 album The Absolute Game.

Skids played their first gig on 19 August 1977 at the Bellville Hotel in Pilmuir Street, Dunfermline, Scotland. Within six months they had released the Charles EP on the No Bad record label, created by Sandy Muir, a Dunfermline music shop owner turned manager. The record brought them to the attention of national BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel. This led to a local gig supporting The Clash. Virgin Records then signed up Skids in April 1978.

The singles "Sweet Suburbia" and "The Saints Are Coming" both made commercial inroads, before "Into the Valley" reached the UK Top 10 singles chart in early 1979. The band released their debut studio album, Scared to Dance, the same year.

Skids enjoyed a further year of chart success as "Masquerade" and "Working for the Yankee Dollar" reached the UK Top 20 singles chart. Both came from their second album, also released in 1979, Days in Europa, with the record's production and keyboards by Bill Nelson (Be-Bop Deluxe, Red Noise, Channel Light Vessel and solo artist). Nelson was the obvious choice for the record's production duties as he was not only Adamson's principal 'guitar hero' but also an enormous influence on Adamson's playing.

Stuart Adamson left Skids in 1982 and was the co-founder, lead vocalist, and guitarist of rock group Big Country, which rose to prominence in 1983."

"Sweet Suburbia" - 




"The Saints Are Coming" - 




"Into The Valley" - 




"Masquerade" - 




"Working for the Yankee Dollar" -


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2018)

View attachment 105631


"Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981.

The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it retained a cult following for many years after. The band's music was most recognizable for the sounds it infused with Scottish folk and martial music styles, as well as for playing and engineering their guitar driven sound to evoke the inspirational spirit of bagpipes, fiddles and other traditional folk instruments.

Big Country comprised Stuart Adamson (formerly of Skids, vocals/guitar/keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar/mandolin/sitar/vocals), Tony Butler (bass guitar/vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums/percussion/vocals).

Big Country's first single was "Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, although it did not reach the official UK Singles Chart. Their next single was 1983's "Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a hit in the United States (reaching the Top 20 in the Billboard 200), powered by "In a Big Country", their only US Top 40 hit single. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; Adamson and fellow guitarist, Watson, achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. The Crossing sold over a million copies in the UK and obtained gold record status (sales of over 500,000) in the US.

Big Country released the non-LP extended play single "Wonderland" in 1984 while in the middle of a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest, was a Top Ten hit (No. 8) in the UK Singles Chart but, despite heavy airplay and a positive critical response, was a comparative flop in the US, reaching only No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last single by the band to make the US charts.

Their second album Steeltown (1984) was a hit as soon as it was released, entering the UK Albums Chart at No. 1.The album featured three UK top 30 hit singles, and received considerable critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, but like Wonderland (and, in fact, all subsequent releases) it was a commercial disappointment in the US, peaking at No. 70 on the Billboard album chart.

Stuart Adamson committed suicide on 16 December 2001. - RIP

"Harvest Home" - 




"Fields of Fire" - 




"In A Big Country" - 




"Chance" - 




"Wonderland" - 




"Look Away/In A Big Country" -


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

All hail to *William Marshall* (1748-1833) :tiphat:, the 'other' Scottish Golden Age Fiddler/ Composer (best-known after Niel Gow).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marshall_(Scottish_composer)

His tunes are wonderful. Here's a playful medley by *Concerto Caledonia*:





Here's his stirring march *Craigellachie Bridge* perfomed by two fiddlers on - *Craigellachie Bridge*. 





And one of my favourites, the lyrical *Sir Charles Forbes of Newe & Edinglassie*, played by master fiddler :tiphat: *Iain Fraser*.


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2018)

View attachment 106378


"Runrig are a Scottish Celtic rock group formed in Skye, in 1973 under the name 'The Run Rig Dance Band'. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The current line-up also includes longtime members Malcolm Jones, Iain Bayne, and more recently, Bruce Guthro, and Brian Hurren. To date, the band has released fourteen studio albums, with a number of their songs sung in Scottish Gaelic.

Runrig's music is often described as a blend of folk and rock music, with the band's lyrics often focusing upon locations, history, politics and people that are unique to Scotland. Songs also make references to agriculture, land conservation and religion.

Since 1999, the band has gained attention in Canada, following *Nova Scotian* singer Bruce Guthro's entry to the band. In 2016, the band announced that it would retire from studio recording after the release of its 14th studio album, The Story.

The period from 1987-1997 marked Runrig's most successful run, during which they achieved placings in both the UK albums and singles charts, and toured extensively.

With (for the first time) major-label support (from Chrysalis), Runrig's fifth studio album, The Cutter And The Clan (1987), which had originally been released on the independent Ridge Records label before being re-released on Chrysalis, brought the band wider audiences in the United Kingdom, as well as in other parts of Europe.

From 1987 to 1995, Runrig released a total of five studio albums through Chrysalis Records. Along with The Cutter And The Clan, the other four albums were: Searchlight (1989), The Big Wheel (1991), Amazing Things (1993), and Mara (1995).

Following the release of Mara, lead singer Donnie Munro grew more involved in politics. In 1997, he left Runrig in order to stand for a seat in the House of Commons for the Labour Party. However, he was not elected.

Runrig began searching for a new frontman, and in 1998 they announced their selection of Bruce Guthro, a singer-songwriter from *Nova Scotia*.

On 26 September 2017 Runrig announced that after 45 years they would be "pulling the curtain down" on their music careers. The band announced one final tour named The Final Mile, taking part in Germany, Denmark and England, ending with one final show in Stirling's City Park called The Last Dance. Tickets for The Last Dance sold out in minutes and, after a few days of behind the scenes planning, Runrig announced another concert in the same location the night before. Tickets for this night sold out in less than six hours.

Many of the band's songs include references to Scottish history or culture. These include the band's name itself - which is a reference to a Pre-Agricultural Revolution farming practice."

"Wall of China" -






"Empty Glens" -






"The Greatest Flame" -






"Book of Golden Stories" -






"Big Sky" -






"Abhainin An T-Sluaigh" -






"Maymorning" -






"Alba" -






"Canada" -






"An Uhbal As Airde" -






"Proterra" -






"Running to the Light" -






"Recovery" -






"Loch Lomond" -






"The Old Boys" -






"In Search of Angels" -


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## Metairie Road (Apr 30, 2014)

Can any of you Scottish folkies out there identify this song?

I have it on an old cassette tape. I recorded it from a radio broadcast - *BBC Folk on 2*, if I remember rightly - sometime in the 1980's. I have no idea who it is and it's been driving me round the bend for nigh on forty years.

I uploaded it to Instaudio, a legitimate service as far as I can tell.
https://instaud.io/2w7k

Thanks


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)




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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamish_Imlach

:tiphat: Hamish Imlach - he was funny and incisive and did some good Scottish satirical songs. He could also sing a really good traditional Scots ballad, as here (Child 114, Johnnie of Breadislee).


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2018)

Metairie Road said:


> Can any of you Scottish folkies out there identify this song?
> 
> I have it on an old cassette tape. I recorded it from a radio broadcast - *BBC Folk on 2*, if I remember rightly - sometime in the 1980's. I have no idea who it is and it's been driving me round the bend for nigh on forty years.
> 
> ...


I did a search on every conceivable variation of every line of the lyrics and came up empty-handed... Literally not a single trace could be found of any aspect.

If you haven't already tried this site -

https://www.musicinscotland.com/index.html

it might be worth it to contact them by email and provide a link to the tune.

If they don't know and it really has been driving you round the bend for nigh on forty years then I don't see any harm in pretending that I was the one who wrote it - it wasn't exactly one of my catchier tunes... and you sure couldn't dance to it... and forget about trying to sing it around the camp fire... or on the bus... or in the car...


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## Metairie Road (Apr 30, 2014)

Sydney Nova Scotia

Thanks for the response. I've also tried web-searching for it. Not a sausage.

I just call it 'The Rumour'

It sounds like Ivor Cutler, but to me all Scotsmen sound like Ivor Cutler.

Best wishes
Metairie Road

p.s. The royalties are in the mail.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Sydney Nova Scotia said:


> View attachment 105619
> 
> 
> "Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jobson (vocals, guitar and keyboards). Their biggest success was the 1979 single "Into the Valley" and the 1980 album The Absolute Game.
> ...


I taught The Skids' bass player's nephew 2 years ago.


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

LezLee said:


> And this is Danny MacAskill's bike ride of The Ridge on Skye to the accompaniment of 'Blackbird'.
> Lovely.


That ride was off the charts and great accompanying music. It worked very well with the video. Thanks for that. Great stuff!

V


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2018)

Robyn Stapleton is a Scottish singer who performs traditional songs in English, Scots, and Gaelic. She studied music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of Limerick in Ireland.

In 2014, Robyn won the BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year award and was nominated for Scots Singer of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Robyn was recently named an 'Ambassador of the Scots Language' by Education Scotland.






_Robyn Stapleton Trio - "*Bruach Na Carraige Baine" - *_






Robyn Stapleton - "*Jawk Hawk's Adventures in Glasgow*" - 






Robyn Stapleton - "*Mormond Braes*" -






Robyn Stapleton - "*The Two Sisters*" -






Robyn Stapleton - "*Ae Fond Kiss*"






Robyn Stapleton & St. Roch's Senior Ceili Band - "*Alba*"


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Mrs Merl's favourite artist and a woman we've seen live at least half a dozen times (Mrs Merl is into double figures seeing her live). A Fifer by birth and a very talented singer. Not my usual bag but she has got a great voice. Her last album, Home, was her best in years. This is probably the best track from it.


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2018)

*Scottish Gaelic Punk -*

Scottish Gaelic Punk is a subgenre of punk rock in which bands sing some or all of their music in Scottish Gaelic. The Gaelic punk scene is, in part, an affirmation of the value of minority languages and cultures. Gaelic punk bands express political views, particularly those related to anarchism and environmentalism.

Punk in the Welsh language, particularly the bands connected with the Anhrefn record label, was an early inspiration to the Gaelic punk scene in Scotland.

The Scottish rock band Runrig's first album (Play Gaelic) 



 in 1978 is considered to be the first notable modern Scottish Gaelic-language music album; other than Ultravox's 1984 album "Lament", which contained some Gaelic lyrics in the song "Man of Two Worlds" 



 , and mid-1990s grindcore band Scatha, from Tomintoul who featured Gaelic in several of their songs, there were no further albums of modern music all in Gaelic until spring 2005, when Oi Polloi and Mill a h-Uile Rud both released all-Gaelic EPs.

Mill a h-Uile Rud, based in Seattle, United States, formed in Scotland, and have played at least as many concerts in Europe as they have in the United States. All of their material is in Gaelic.

Oi Polloi, from Edinburgh, Scotland started performing in English in 1981. They released a Gaelic EP, Carson?, in 2005, followed by an all-Gaelic LP, Ar Ceòl, Ar Cànan, Ar-a-mach, in 2006, and the all-Gaelic LP, Dùisg!, in 2012. Their live set features a mix of English and Gaelic material, although they tend to favour the Gaelic material when they play in Scotland. At some concerts in Portree and Stornoway, all of their songs and stage banter were in Gaelic.

The uniting feature of all of these bands is that most of the Gaelic-speaking members have spent some time at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, a Gaelic college on the Isle of Skye. In DIY-punk style, the Gaelic punks started out by teaching each other the language at Gaelic for Punks classes; first held at the Edinburgh European City of Punk festival in 1997. After these individuals gained fluency, they took advantage of scholarships available at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, and there has been a small, but steady, stream of punks at the college ever since.

The Gaelic punk band Mill a h-Uile Rud were featured in the BBC arts documentary series Ealtainn, which followed them on a tour of Europe and filmed them at concerts in the Gaelic-speaking heartland of the Isle of Lewis. The Scotsman, a national Scottish paper based in Edinburgh, regularly covers the Gaelic punk scene, and the American publications Maximum Rocknroll and Punk Planet have carried features on the subgenre.

Notable releases

Oi Polloi were the first punk rock band to record an EP, Carson?, in Scottish Gaelic.
Carson? (2005), Oi Polloi. This vinyl EP was the release that launched the subgenre.





"Ceàrr" (2005), Mill a h-Uile Rud. This CD EP was the first ever CD released of all-original new compositions in Gaelic. The liner-notes in the CD are also exclusively in Gaelic.





"Ar Cànan, Ar Ceòl, Ar-a-mach" (2005), Oi Polloi. This is the first full-length rock LP sung entirely in Gaelic since Runrig released their Play Gaelic LP in 1979. Lyrics and sleeve-notes are entirely in Gaelic and English translations are only available on their website.





"Gàidhlig na Lasair" (2006). Fifteen songs by Oi Polloi, Mill a h-Uile Rud, Nad Aislingean and Atomgevitter, and the 80s new wave band The Thing Upstairs.









"Togaibh Ur Guth" (2011) by An t-Uabhas.





"Dùisg" (2012) by Oi Polloi.




 - (Full Album)


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2018)

Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye, Scotland in 1973. 
From its inception, the band's line-up included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The final line-up also included longtime members Malcolm Jones, Iain Bayne, and latterly, Bruce Guthro, and Brian Hurren. The band released fourteen studio albums, with a number of their songs sung in Scottish Gaelic.

In 1978, Runrig's first album, entitled "Play Gaelic", was released. All the songs were in Gaelic. It was re-released in 1990 as Play Gaelic, the first legendary recording.

View attachment 108174


Runrig - "_Play Gaelic_" - 

"*Dusig Mo Run*" -






"*Squaban Arbhair*" -






"*Tillidh Mi (I Will Return) Old Uist Scenery*" -






"*Criogal Cridhe*" -






"*Nach Neonach Neisd A Tha E*" -






"*Sunndach*" -






"*Air An Traigh*" -






"*De Ni Mi*" -






"*An Ros*" -






"*Ceol An Dannsa*" -






"*Chi Mi'n Geamhradh*" -






"*Cum 'Ur N'aire*" -


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2018)

View attachment 108199


*Dougie MacLean* - "*Tribute to Robert Burns, Neil Gow, and Robert Tannahill*"
- released 1999 on the Celtic Corner label.

1.) - "*Ca' The Yowes*"-






2.) - "*Are Ye Sleepin', Maggie?*" -






3.) - "*Scots Wha Hae*" -






4.) - "*Neil Gow's Lament*" -






5.) - "*Slaves Lament*" -






6.) - "*Banks and Braes*" -






7.) - "*For a' That*" -






8.) - "*Gloomy Winter*" -






9.) - "*Rattlin' Roarin' Willie*" -






10.) - "*Auld Lang Syne*" -






11.) - "*Farewell to Whiskey*" -


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2018)

Amy Macdonald & Glaswegians - "Rhythm of the Heart" - 2014






*Amy Macdonald - *

Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and musician. She has sold over 12 million records worldwide.

Macdonald released her debut album "This Is the Life" in 2007. The singles "Mr. Rock & Roll" and "This Is the Life" from it were chart hits. The latter charted at number one in six countries, while reaching the top 10 in another 11 countries. The album reached number one in four European countries-the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland-and sold three million copies worldwide.

"*Poison Prince*" - 2007 -






"*Mr. Rock & Roll*" - 2007 -






"*L.A.*" - 2007 -






"*This Is The Life*" - 2007 -






"*Run*" - 2008 -






"*Don't Tell Me That It's Over*" - 2010 -






"*This Pretty Face*" - 2010 -






"*Love Love*" - 2010 -






"*You're Time Will Come*" - 2010 -






"*Slow It Down*" - 2012 -






"*Pride*" - 2012 -






"*4th of July*" - 2013 -






"*Dream On*" - 2017 -






"*Automatic*" - 2017 -






"*Down By The Water*" - 2017 -


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2018)

View attachment 108640


"*Caledonia's Hardy Sons*" is the second album by *Silly Wizard* originally released in the U.K. on Highway Records in 1978, and in the U.S. in 1980 on the Shanachie label.

*Personnel -*

Phil Cunningham - Accordion, whistle, synthesizer, string synthesizer, harmonium, vocals

Johnny Cunningham - Fiddle, viola, bouzouki, mandolin, mandola, vocals

Martin Hadden - Bass, harmonium, vocals

Gordon Jones - Guitar, bodhran, bouzouki, mandola, vocals (Lead vocals on "Ferryland Sealer")

Andy M. Stewart - Vocals, tenor banjo, mandolin, mandola

Bob Thomas - Guitar, mandola

*Track listing -* 

"*Mo Chuachag Laghach (My Kindly Sweetheart)*" -






"*The Isla Waters*" -






"*The Twa Brithers*" -






"*The Auld Pipe Reel/The Brolum*" -






"*Glasgow Peggy*" -






"*Monymusk Lads*" -






"*The Ferryland Sealer*" -






"*Fhear A Bhata (The Boatman)*" -






"*Jack Cunningham's Farewell to Benbecula/Sweet Molly*" -






"*Broom O' the Cowdenknowes*" -






*Song information -*

"Mo Chuahlag Laghach" - "A fine two-part reel from the North-West Highlands of Scotland, which Phil learned from Scottish fiddler Niel Morrison."

"The Isla Waters" - "The song was composed by Martin and Andy around a fragment sung by Andy's grandfather, who was born in Glen Isla in 1900. It tells of a crofter whose life was made difficult by the fact that his local 'ale hoose' was across the river from his croft, but miles from the nearest bridge. Crossing to the inn on stepping-stones was easy enough in daylight when sober, but returning after a night of song and powerful whisky was an entirely different matter."

"The Twa Brithers" - "A ballad still sung in Perthshire about internal family conflict which leads to the 'accidental' death of the elder son at the hands of his younger stepbrother. With his dying breath he curses his stepmother who, he realizes, is responsible for plotting his death."

"The Auld Pipe Reel/The Brolum" - "These two Highland pipe tunes are both driving four-part reels. The first is a little-known reel, but the latter is very popular in Scottish music circles."

"Glasgow Peggy" - "This version of the ballad was collated by Andy and retains the story while using, we think, the best verses available from other versions. It tells the story of a highly successful abduction of a young lady by Lord Donald MacDonald of Skye."

"Monymusk Lads" - "An Aberdeenshire song describing a young man's visit to his serving girl sweetheart's bedroom. He is discovered by the lady of the house who runs outraged to the Laird and berates a social system which allows servants to indulge in such pastimes, while gentlewomen must abstain (or at least use more discretion). The young man is thrown out, but intends to return once everyone has gone back to bed."

"The Ferryland Sealer" is about the seasonal seal hunting expeditions from the southern Newfoundland community of Ferryland. This song, to be found in Peacock's "Songs of the Newfoundland Outports," gives a detailed description of a sealing voyage of the time. The Scots were heavily involved in the early settlement of Canada and in the sealing industry. Ferryland itself is a small village on the east coast of the Avalon Peninsula of the south of St. John's, and Cape Broyle lies just to the north.

"Fhear A Bhata (The Boatman)" - "A song known all over the Highlands and Island of Scotland telling of a young girl's love for a man whom she could never hope to keep. The version Andy sings is a translation from the Gaelic by Malcolm Lawson."

"Jack Cunninghams's Farewell To Benbecula/Sweet Molly" - "Phil's inspiration for this wild air came from the many takes [tales?] his father told him of the life and people of Benbecula. Sweet Molly is a fine tune that Johnny has known for many years, and here is played both as a strathspey and as a reel."

"Broom O'The Cowdenknowes" - "A song from the Borders of Scotland telling the story of a young man banished from Scotland because of his love for a girl of higher social standing than himself. It is thought that the melody was written by Rizzio, the lover of Mary[,] Queen of Scots, and the words by a lass from Mellerstane."

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonia's_Hardy_Sons


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## Kollwitz (Jun 10, 2018)

Much of my very favourite Scottish music is from Glasgow's Chemikal Underground label, particularly from the late '90s and early '00s. Peloton and The Great Eastern were fantastic albums by the Delgados. Mogwai's Young Team and Come on Die Young were incredible at the time. Their collection of early singles, Ten Rapid, had some brilliant tracks on (Ithaca 27 9, Helicon 1 and 2, Summer). Any other post-rock fans here? I'm completely out of touch with the genre, but in my late teens was obsessed with it.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2018)

Kollwitz said:


> Much of my very favourite Scottish music is from Glasgow's Chemikal Underground label, particularly from the late '90s and early '00s. Peloton and The Great Eastern were fantastic albums by the Delgados. Mogwai's Young Team and Come on Die Young were incredible at the time. Their collection of early singles, Ten Rapid, had some brilliant tracks on (Ithaca 27 9, Helicon 1 and 2, Summer). Any other post-rock fans here? I'm completely out of touch with the genre, but in my late teens was obsessed with it.


*Chemikal Underground* is an independent record label set up in 1994 by Glasgow, Scotland rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in the nineties.

When the second Chemikal Underground release by Bis, "The Secret Vampire Soundtrack" EP was successful, earning them a slot on Top of the Pops, the label was able to expand. To date, The Secret Vampire Soundtrack is the only Top 40 hit released on Chemikal Underground. Further success followed with the debut albums by Mogwai and Arab Strap.

Other bands on the Chemikal Underground roster included Aereogramme, Cha Cha Cohen, ****s of Trust, the Radar Brothers and more recently Mother and the Addicts and De Rosa, as well as Arab Strap member Malcolm Middleton's solo work.

*Artists - 
*
- *Adrian Crowley - "The Saddest Song"* - 




- *Aereogramme - "A Conscious Life" *- 




- *Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat - "If You Keep Me In Your Heart"* - 





- *Angil & the Hidden Tracks - "Trying To Fit"* - 




- *Arab Strap - "The Shy Retirer"* - 




- *Bis - "Kandy Pop"* - 




- *Cha Cha Cohen - "A = A" *- 




- *Conquering Animal Sound - "The Future Does Not Require"* - 





- *De Rosa - "Camera"* - 




- *The Delgados - "American Trilogy"* - 




- *Emma Pollock - "Dark Skies" *- 




- *The Fruit Tree Foundation - "Splinter"* - 




- *Holy Mountain - "Gunner"* - 




- *Loch Lomond - "Elephants and Little Girls"* - 




- *Malcolm Middleton - "Loneliness Shines"* - 




- *Mogwai - "Stanley Kubrick"* - 




- *Mother and the Addicts - "Oh Yeah You Look Quite Nice"* - 





- *The Phantom Band - "The Howling"* - 




- *The Radar Brothers - "Papillon"* - 




- *Rick Redbeard - "The Night Is All Ours"* - 




- *RM Hubbert - "Car Song"* - 




- *Sister Vanilla - "Can't Stop The Rock"* - 




- *****s of Trust - "Piece O' You"* - 




- *Zoey Van Goey - 'You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate"* -


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2018)

View attachment 108800


"*Eddi Reader Sings The Songs Of Robert Burns*"

- released 2003 on the Rough Trade label

"*Jamie Come Try Me*" -






"*My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose*" -






"*Willy Stewart/Molly Rankin*" -






"*Ae Fond Kiss*" -






"*Brose and Butter*" -






"*Ye Jacobites*" -






"*Wild Mountainside*" -






"*Charlie Is My Darling*" -






"*John Anderson My Jo*" -






"*Winter It Is Past*" -






"*Au Lang Syne*" -






"*Green Grow The Rashes O*" -






"*Comin' Through the Rye / Dram Behind the Curtain*" -






"*Ye Banks and Braes O'bonnie Doon*" -






"*Aye Waukin-o*" -






"*Dainty Davie*" -






"*Leezie Lindsay*" -






"*Of A' the Airts*" -


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2018)

*"Flower of Scotland"
*
"Flower of Scotland" is a Scottish song, used frequently at special occasions and sporting events.






Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland, "Flower of Scotland" is one of a number of songs which fulfil this role, along with the older "Scots Wha Hae", and "Scotland the Brave", amongst others.

Roy Williamson of the folk group the Corries wrote both the lyrics and music for the song. The words refer to the victory of the Scots, led by Robert the Bruce, over England's Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

View attachment 108846







The song was composed and is sung in English, typically with Scots pronunciation of a few words (e.g. "Tae" as opposed to "To").

*English* -

"_O Flower of Scotland, 
When will we see
Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him (against who?),
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
To think again."_

*Scots - *

"_O Flouer o Scotland,
Whan will we see
Yer like again,
That focht an dee'd for,
Yer wee bit Hill an Glen,
An stuid agin him (agin ho?),
Prood Edwart's Airmie,
An sent him hamewart,
Tae think again._"

*Scottish Gaelic - *

"_O Fhlùir na h-Alba,
cuin a chì sinn
an seòrsa laoich
a sheas gu bàs 'son
am bileag feòir is fraoich,
a sheas an aghaidh (an aghaidh cò?)
feachd uailleil Iomhair
's a ruaig e dhachaidh
air chaochladh smaoin?_"

The song has been used as a National Anthem by the Scotland national rugby union team, ever since the winger, Billy Steele, encouraged his team-mates to sing it on the victorious Lions tour of South Africa in 1974.

The song was adopted as the pre-game anthem during the deciding match of the 1990 Five Nations Championship between Scotland and England, which Scotland won 13-7 to win the Grand Slam.

The Scottish Football Association adopted "Flower of Scotland" as its pre-game national anthem in 1997 although it was first used by them in 1993.

Usually only the first and third verses are sung. At any home International Scotland Rugby union test match the first verse is accompanied by bagpipes followed by the third verse unaccompanied by any instrument.

When sung at sporting events, *crowds will often call back after certain lines*: after the words "*and stood against him*", "*England*" or "*Gainst who?*" may be heard.

The song was used as the victory anthem of Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 replacing "Scotland the Brave". This trend continued to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where it was again Team Scotland's anthem and was sung following a Scottish first place. (notably it was sung 4 times when Team Scotland won 4 gold medals in the opening day). This usage continued at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The tune was originally composed on the Northumbrian smallpipes which play in D and have the benefit of keys on the chanter to achieve a greater range of notes.

In July 2006, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted an online poll (publicised by Reporting Scotland) in which voters could choose a national anthem from one of five candidates. 10,000 people took part in the poll in which "Flower of Scotland" came out the winner.

The results were as follows:

Tune - Votes (%) -

- Flower of Scotland - 41%

- Scotland the Brave - 29%

- Highland Cathedral - 16%

- Is There for Honest Poverty - 8%

- Scots Wha Hae - 6%

View attachment 108848


*Lulu - 
*
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE (born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie; 3 November 1948) is a Scottish singer-songwriter.

*Lulu - "Flower of Scotland" -*


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Apologies if anyone's posted this already. I got the second groovy Dougie MacLean version from Syd - many thanks -:tiphat: but found this first more traditional version just now, and what fab fiddling from Pete Clarke.

Oh, if only I'd got back to my fiddle forty years ago, I might have sounded like this by now - but alas, or should that be ochone, it's too late now!


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2018)

CA' THE EWES TAE THE KNOWES

Ca' the ewes tae the knowes
Ca' them where the heather grows
Ca' them where the burnie rowes
My bonnie dearie

Hark a mavis evening song
Soundin' Cluden's woods amang
Then a foldin' let us gang
My bonnie dearie

We'll gae doon by Cludenside
Through the hazels spreading wide
All the ways that sweetly glide
To the moon sae clearly

Doon the Cluden silent hours
All in moonshine midnight hours
All the dewy buddin' flowers
The fairies dance so cheery

Ghaist nor boggle shall thou fear
Thou art to love Heaven so dear
Naught of ill shall come you near
My bonnie dearie

Fair and lovely as thou art
Thou hast stolen my very heart
I can die but canna part
Wi' my bonnie dearie


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

A *bonnie* fiddler from the Scottish diaspora -


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## Vronsky (Jan 5, 2015)




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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

Highland flash mob


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## Tikoo Tuba (Oct 15, 2018)

When the McDonalds came to Montana in the 1800's they get along very well with the drumming of the natives , and the locals still have an inate fondness for the drone pipe . Red-headed Indians , eh !

When I happened into a pub session in Missoula ... well , amongst the Irish there was one Scot fiddler . So I would bring forth the great and booming oaken drum , and in this sound he and I knew one another . The night of its arrival it was banned as un-Irish . No ! We shall love the root of soulfulness and this shall prevail again and again . Grampus , the drum made from an hollow oak log, would stay .


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## Vronsky (Jan 5, 2015)




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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Sorry, Spouse - this has probably been posted already. But I just love looking at these old pictures of The Corries. Brings it all back, brisk 1960s with Scottish ganseys.


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