Scotland Scotland and some of its history and its humour

• The Dark Island on bagpipes  by DudelsackOnline

Andy Stewart and the pipes and drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

“A Scottish soldier” is a Scottish folk song. The lyrics were written by Andy Stewart. He said they came from his heart. The song is about a dying Scottish soldier, wishing to return to the hills of his homeland rather than die in Tyrol. The song was a significant international hit, and one of two US chart entries by Andy Stewart.

The tune, “The Green Hills of Tyrol”, is a well-known melody in the Scottish bagpipe tradition and was written by John MacLeod during the Crimean War, and based on an alpine folk tune used in William Tell.

The lyrics are as follows:

There was a soldier, a Scottish soldier
Who wandered far away and soldiered far away
There was none bolder, with good broad shoulder
He’s fought in many a fray, and fought and won.
He’d seen the glory and told the story
Of battles glorious and deeds victorious
But now he’s sighing, his heart is crying
To leave these green hills of Tyrol.

Because those green hills are not highland hills
Or the island hills, they’re not my land’s hills
And fair as these green foreign hills may be
They are not the hills of home.

And now this soldier, this Scottish soldier
Who wandered far away and soldiered far away
Sees leaves are falling and death is calling
And he will fade away, in that far land.
He called his piper, his trusty piper
And bade him sound a lay… a pibroch sad to play
Upon a hillside, a Scottish hillside
Not on these green hills of Tyrol.

Because those green hills are not highland hills
Or the island hills, they’re not my land’s hills
And fair as these green foreign hills may be
They are not the hills of home.

And so this soldier, this Scottish soldier
Will wander far no more and soldier far no more
And on a hillside, a Scottish hillside
You’ll see a piper play his soldier home.
He’d seen the glory, he’d told his story
Of battles glorious and deeds victorious
The bugles cease now, he is at peace now
Far from those green hills of Tyrol.

Because these green hills are not highland hills
Or the island hills, they’re not my land’s hills
And fair as these green foreign hills may be
They are not the hills of home.

Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream
words and music by Ed McCurdy

Last night I had the strangest dream
I’d ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

I dreamed I saw a mighty room
Filled with women and men
And the paper they were signing said
They’d never fight again

And when the paper was all signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful pray’rs were prayed

And the people in the streets below
Were dancing ’round and ’round
While swords and guns and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground

Last night I had the strangest dream
I’d never dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war.

Well, how do you do Private William McBride?
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside?
And rest for awhile neath the warm summer sun
I’ve been walking all day, and I’m nearly done

And I see by your gravestone, you’re only nineteen
When you joined the great fallen in nineteen sixteen
Well I hope you died quickly, I hope you died clean
Or poor Willy Mcbride, was it slow and obscene?

Did they beat the drums slowly?
Did they play the pipes lowly?
Did they bugles carry you over as they lowered you down?
And did the band play ‘The Last Post’ in chorus?
Did the pipes play ‘The Flowers Of The Forest’?

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind?
In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined?
And though you died back in nineteen-sixteen
In that faithful heart are you always nineteen?

Or are you a stranger without a name?
Forever enshrined behind some glass pane
In an old photograph, torn and tattered, and stained.
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame.

Did they beat the drums slowly?
Did they play the pipes lowly?
Did they bugles carry you over as they lowered you down?
And did the band play ‘The Last Post’ in chorus?
Did the pipes play ‘The Flowers Of The Forest’?

Well the sun’s shining down on these green fields of France
The warm wind blows gently, and the red poppies dance
The trenches have vanished long under the plow
There’s no gas, no barb wire, there’s no guns firing now

But here in this graveyard that’s still no-man’s land
The countless white crosses stand mute in the sand
To man’s blind indifference to his fellow man
The whole generation was butchered and damned

Did they beat the drums slowly?
Did they play the pipes lowly?
Did they bugles carry you over as they lowered you down?
And did the band play ‘The Last Post’ in chorus?
Did the pipes play ‘The Flowers Of The Forest’?

And I can’t help but wonder young Willy McBride
Do those that lie here know why that they died?
And did they really believe you when you told them the cause
Did they really believe that this war would end wars?

Well the suffering, and the sorrow, the glory of pain
The killing and dying they were all done in vain
For young Willy McBride it’s all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again…

Did they beat the drums slowly?
Did they play the pipes lowly?
Did they bugles carry you over as they lowered you down?
And did the band play ‘The Last Post’ in chorus?
Did the pipes play ‘The Flowers Of The Forest’?

Green Fields of France is, in contrast with The Band Played Walzing Mathilda, which is also written by Eric Bogle, commonly recognised as anti-war song. Until present times this song, in our opinion a very successful illustration of the meaningless absurdity of war, is quite popular in Ireland. Perhaps its popularity is an expression of the ambiguous attitude of the Irish regarding the First World War.

Eric Bogle wrote this song after he had visited a military cemetery in France. As you might know the First World War was the last real trench war and in France and Belgium battles could last weeks or months without any progress.
A researcher from a Belgium war museum has delved in a stack of burial records to find the real Willy McBride. Among the 1,700,000 names he found ten William Willy McBride’s, but only one died in 1916 at the age of 19. This private William McBride served in the Royal Inniskilling Fusilliers and is buried at Authuille Military Cemetery in Northern France. It is not sure though whether or not this particular grave inspired Eric Bogle to write this song.

The term No Man’s Land refers to the area of ground between opposing armies. The term is widely used in relation with the First World War, although it originates from the fourteenth century.
During the First World War No Man’s Land was clearly defined by the trenches. Sometimes the contending parties where so close to each other that they could overhear the conversation of their opponents and many men, unaware of the nearness of the enemy snipers, died on their first day in the trenches.
In contrast with what the term might suggest No Man’s Land was by no means abandoned. Under the cover of darkness the parties continuously repaired or extend the barbed wire fencing and carried out reconnaissance missions. Consequently artillery shelling of No Man’s Land was common. Those who got injured often had to suffer a whole day before being rescued, while corpses were seldom salvaged.

The Last Post and The Flowers of the Forrest are compositions associated with the final farewell.
In olden days bugles and drums marked the phases of a soldier’s day, which started with the wakeup call Reveille. At the end of the day officers, accompanied by bugle players and drummers, made a round along the posts. The start of this round was announced by The First Post and the end by The Last Post, therewith signalling that all sentry posts were manned and that it was safe for off-duty soldiers to go to sleep. In the course of time The Last Post was incorporated into funeral and memorial services as a final farewell and symbolises that the duty of the fallen is over and that they can rest in peace.
The Flowers of the Forrest is a poem written by Jane Elliot in the mid-1750′s. It refers to the Battle of Flodden, which took place in 1513 between the Scots and the English. The outcome was disastrous for the Scots as it is estimated that about 10,000, including King James IV of Scotland, were killed. The Flowers of the Forrest, traditionally played on a bagpipe, has become a lament for lost relatives, whereas the bugle call The Last Post is a final salute for fallen fellow soldiers.

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,
Proud Edward’s Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

The Hills are bare now,
And Autumn leaves
lie thick and still,
O’er land that is lost now,
Which those so dearly held,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward’s Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

Those days are past now,
And in the past
they must remain,
But we can still rise now,
And be the nation again,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward’s Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

0 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,
Proud Edward’s Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.

And Flower of Scotland at BraveHeart

The Corries – Lord Of The Dance Lyrics
I danced in the morning when the world was begun
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun
I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth
Dance, then, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
I lead you all, wherever you may be
I lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees
They wouldn’t dance, they wouldn’t follow me
I danced for the fishermen for James and John
They came with me so the dance went on
Dance, then, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
I lead you all, wherever you may be
I lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame
The holy people said it was a shame
They ripped, and they stripped, and they hung me high
Left me there on the cross to die
Dance, then, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
I lead you all, wherever you may be
I lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back
They buried my body, and they thought I was gone
But I am the dance, and the dance goes on
Dance, then, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
I lead you all, wherever you may be
I lead you all in the dance, said he
They cut me down but I leapt up high
I am the life that will never, never die
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me
I am the Lord of the dance, said he
Dance, then, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
I lead you all, wherever you may be
I lead you all in the dance, said he

• Are not they really cute lol