THE BATTLE OF CULLODEN
The Battle of Culloden
In dark skies the fire flies
Jacobite sons, bleed your compromise
Wild eyes… so frightened
On the Culloden Moor God rest their souls
For when the righteous have fallen
The highland winds will e’er cry their name
And they will ne’er be forgotten
Out of the dark… let the silence be blessed
Red coats and sliced throats
The musket and sword lay the lion to rest
Sweet sound of silence
After the ravaged blood has stained the land
For the weary no vengeance
As the savage cry stills their hand
But they shall ne’er be forgotten
Into the dark… they shall ne’er be alone
Humm ditty ditty butty dum bitty butty ditty ditty
Humm ditty butty dum ditty butty bum
Humm ditty ditty butty dum bitty butty ditty ditty
Humm ditty butty dum ditty butty bum
Suilean làn eagal (Eyes full of fear)
Leigeil fuil air an talamh (Bleeding on the Earth)
Tha an teine a’ fàs (The fire grows)
Fiadhaich air an gaoithe (Fierce on the wind)
The dear cost of life lost
Nowhere to run from the freedom they seek
The great young pretender
A bonnie dear Prince they cry his name
And they will never surrender
Run toward the sword they die in vain
When the final defender
Goes into the dark… his name is written in stone
Humm ditty ditty butty dum bitty butty ditty ditty
Humm ditty butty dum ditty butty dum
Humm ditty ditty butty dum bitty butty ditty ditty
Humm ditty butty dum ditty butty dum
The Making of a Song
This song is the serendipitous coincidence of a a few different elements coming together. It would not have happened if any of those elements were missing.
The ‘Outlander’, a Netflix series set mostly in 18th century Scotland had captured enough of my interest to warrant a little bit of historical research. I have never been to Scotland, but the affinity I feel for the wildly free and proud highlander is very real. I have a fanciful notion, not based on anything really, that some time long ago, perhaps very long ago, my ancestors lived there. Perhaps they were farmers.
I didn’t start out with the intention of writing a song about this particularly tragic moment in Scottish history but rarely will I sit down with a guitar and a plan to come up with a song. It just sort of happens while noodling around and exploring different rhythms. It just so happened that I had my guitar tuned to an open C chord that day which was the critical second element. From thick to thin string, this tuning goes C G C G C E. The early James Gang song ‘Garden Gate’ and Leo Kottke’s ‘Busted Bicycle’ are two examples of songs played in this tuning.
With season two came a history lesson on the Jacobites and their fight for independence from the British crown. I had just finished watching the poignantly tragic episode of the battle itself, but didn’t even realize I had begun to write a song with that theme until I started searching for a rhyming second line and the word ‘Jacobite’ appeared on the paper.
The third element that was looking for a way to manifest was a recently developed taste for Celtic flavoured music. I was thus compelled to find a powerful female vocalist who could do it justice. In my opinion, this song would not have worked without Melanie’s vocals.
The Gaelic bridge section does not mean that I speak Gaelic, but it does lend a more authentic feel than say Chinese or Swahili would. Language is a truly fascinating study, each one intimately entwined with the history of a geographical area. It is my hope that this song conveys an emotion that might resonate with a modern day highlander whose ears might happen to catch it. It is my hope that it might be appreciated by whoever might be listening to it through Stephanie’s blog.
Michael,
Wonderful, wonderful.
I have been to Culloden !
I must come back later today and take this all in again.
Have to get in the shower now and do a Zoom call for Mother’s day!
Sending love to you, Stephanie
❤ ❤ ❤
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Happy Mother’s Day!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
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Just came back to say that the song is wonderful and the voice of the person who sang it is amazing!
Thanks for sharing this Michael.
BTW, you must get to Scotland, I have been there 3 times and plan on going again in a few years with my son and his little family.
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Michael has never met the singer of his song! He co-produced the song long distance. While we were living in Qatar, he worked out the details of his song with a producer he worked with on a previous CD. The co-producer is who found the singer for the song!
Scotland is on our list for sure, to Culloden! Michael has a real pull for Scotland!
Sounds like a lovely family trip, to Scotland together!!! ❤️❤️❤️
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