The way I feel today
Posted on
March 21, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The world's most-read Scottish politics website
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Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)
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A tall tale
Wee Books
Video
Probably a robbery
Transphobia
“My da’s right, my da’s right
My da’s right, my da’s right
Win, lose or draw it’s a’right
If I don’t fight, I can’t go home
Here we,
Here we,
Here we,
Here we,
Here we,
Here we fucking go…”
Guid yin Rev. 🙂
18th September!
Listening now to Johann Lamont. Sick, bitter, and twisted !
woooohhoooooo! Do I feel the Nation engaging?
Lamont was just depressing, but Salmond got it right when he turned her Bliar quote back at her “the hand of history must have missed Johann Lamont entirely!”
Davidson is hilarious: “A YES vote will end Devolution”. In what Universe is does that make any sort of sense?
Rennie, same old pish. “home rule, home rule, home rule” – he still hasn’t figured out they’ve had plenty of chances to deliver on it and have achieved precisely hee haw.
Every time I think the opposition can’t sink any lower in my estimations (e.g. the Trident debate yesterday), they somehow manage to surprise me.
When Mrs Graham started speaking I put this on.
I see the date of the referendum is up on the BBC news website in the UK page with comments allowed, retrospectively moderated.
The ones there are certainly interesting. If you’re easily worked up, I’d give it a miss.
Perhaps not a site for me today, the way I’m feeling.
They keep saying it – “Independence will be forever” – and they say it like it’s a bad thing. And, as I’ve said before, it’s nonsensical anyway. We used to be independent and now we’re not, so how can independence be forever?
Even diamonds aren’t forever. You can burn them to a cinder, if you have a hot enough fire. That is how they diamond price is artificially inflated. They burn literally tones of them every year. (lowest grades obviously)
To be honest I am now actively ignoring any Unionist sites/arguments. I think we all know that they are almost all based on the belief that Scotland can’t run her own affairs, and fear of change (fear of change is much more understandable in a way). They just will not accept that we can run our own affairs as well as any other nation. This desire to be negative about Scotland’s self-governing abilities is corrosive, and I just think we have to leave some people to this fate. Today showed that the Scottish cringe is alive and well among Unionists.
I think one comment on the BBC summed it up perfectly, something like
If Scotland Votes for Independence there is NO GOING BACK. Think Carefully Scotland, Look at how America Australia and Hong Kong are desperately fighting tooth and nail to be ruled by London again.
LOL, definately had his tongue in his cheek when he posted that one….
I think my favourite was the one about having a third world country on the doorstep with independence…
A bit hysterical but there you go.
The obligatory keep English taxes in England was number 6 I think… The people who did that video should do a top ten of daft commentary.
I think my favourite was the one about having a third world country on the doorstep with independence…
A wee bit hysterical but there you go.
The obligatory keep English taxes in England was number 6 I think… The people who did that video should do a top ten of daft commentary.
Heard the date, came on here and watched Marcia’s link. Burst into tears and then sent an E-mail to all my contacts all over the world. Quite a simple message really
HERE WE FUCKIN GO…….CHAAARGE!
for me it’s been 60 YEARS OF WAITING, TIME TO RIGHT SOME WRONGS!
Another 25 quid on it’s way REV.
Marcia said:
When Mrs Graham started speaking I put this on.
No doubt Lumilumi will correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve heard it said that that music won Finland its independence.
Another great piece by Sibelius I like to play is Finlandia, the spirit and pride of a nation.
“Keep English taxes in England”
…and Scottish taxes in Scotland. Sort of the point of the whole exercise lol!
Brian, I think that was the piece I was actually thinking of.
Will you guys stop giving me links to Sibelius. You’ll have me an emotional wreck.
Finlandia was the first classical record I bought after I had joined the Scottish National Congress some 56 years ago. It moved me then and it moves me now.
Independence—-Nothing Less!
@Brian Ritchie
@Morag
Don’t think we can rely on James MacMillan somehow to come up an inspiring Scottish independence piece. Just as well we’ve got The Proclaimers then.
@Brian Ritchie
@Morag
@Jeannie
Maybe Sir Peter Maxwell Davies would like to have a go.
Seeing as how we are coming over all musical like!
An inspired choice – you’ve had me singing this to myself all afternoon.
😀
Morag and Brian Ritchie beat me to it!
I was touched that Marcia chose Sibelius’s Karelia Intermezzo – a nice, jaunty piece, but mention Sibelius to a Finn, we immediately think of Finlandia. That piece of music is Finland, is us. You can enjoy it as just a piece depicting the Finnish seasons (flurries of snow, the spring sun, whatever) but it makes a lot more sense when you realise that Jean Sibelius was a Finnish nationalist and it’s all about Russian oppression, rising nationalism, difficulties but hope. It was composed in 1899/1900, well before Finland finally became independent in 1917. Finlandia played its part in the national awakening, and it’s still known to every Finn, even the lager-loutish ice hockey fans. 😀
I like Brian Ritchie’s YouTube contribution because the scenery is actually Finnish (yes, Finland is full of trees. And lakes. And bogs.) I was looking for a YouTube Finlandia and most of them had pictures from god knows where! Or the music was wrong.
I’ll give a link to how Finlandia should be played – my criteria is that the “quiet” parts should be played very fragile, because that’s what our nationhood was at times, but it should also be brave and bold, even joyous. This is the national orchestra in Finland, not a very interesting video but great music. The chorus sings “arise, Finland, your day will dawn…” (The choral lyrics weren’t written until 1941 – during WWII)
link to youtube.com
I wish Scotland will also arise and be an independent country again.
(Hm. What would Finlandia sound like played on the bagpipes…?)
Perhaps for today this is more appropriate.
“Although it’s true I’m worried now. I wont be worried long!”
Bagpipes and everything. Bring a tear tae a glass eye so it would!
I’m glad you liked my choice lumilumi, and thanks for the link!
Mosstrooper – Sorry mate!
I don’t think you could play Finlandia on the bagpipes. It’s chromatic. It would need to be pentatonic.
PS.
Regarding my above post I was refering to my earlyer comment at 6.22pm. when I said. “more appropriate”
Just before all the Sibelious fans get annoyed.
Sorry!
@The Man in the Jar
You deliberately misspelling the great man’s name just to get us Sibelians wound up? Grrrr
Oops! Sorry again.
Knew they would be a touchy lot! 🙂
Davidson is hilarious: “A YES vote will end Devolution”. In what Universe is does that make any sort of sense?
In the Universe of Paranoid Fantasists, a ‘Yes’ vote could be rejected by Westminster and devolution withdrawn to prevent the referendum ever being repeated: a ‘Yes’ vote ending devolution. As far as I can see, that’s the only possible – sensible – interpretation of Davidson’s remark. A veiled threat. Of course, that’s assuming the remark is sensible. If you assume Davidson is an idiot…well, it could mean just about anything.
Just before all the Sibelious fans get annoyed.
That spelling is libelious.
link to youtube.com
@lumilumi
That was a really lovely link – very moving. I happened to notice a version by Joan Baez and clicked on it to get the words. They are beautiful and so poignant in the context of the second world war.
” It would need to be pentatonic.”
No, although it’s true that many Scottish tunes are pentatonic (built on a scale with five notes instead of seven). It would need to be mixolydian – a seven-note scale with a flattened seventh, like G major with F natural instead of F# (play from G up to the next G on the piano using only the white notes). In fact the slow hymn-like tune in the middle of Finlandia can be played quite easily on the bagpipes. The bagpipe chanter actually has nine notes – the lowest is the flattened seventh beneath the first tonic (the note obtained when your fingers cover all the holes on the chanter).
@Vronsky
If we’re just talking about the big tune, it’s actually hexatonic – there’s no F natural there at all (assuming in G). Still easily played on the pipes though.
It’s actually in A flat. Letter I bar 132 in woodwind, then strings at Letter L.
link to conquest.imslp.info
@Albert
Just meant that mixolydian (unless otherwise qualifed) has seven notes, and the bagpipes are not pentatonic although they play a lot of pentatonic tunes. You can get pentatonic intruments – some Steiner Schools use little lyre-like things with 5 strings (1,2,4,5,6 of the scale) so that anything you hit sounds OK.
@Vronsky
That’s True, but it also fits in an ordinary major scale (or ionian mode if you prefer).
If you look at the harmonisation, there are no G flats, just G naturals e.g. in the viola part, so I would say that it’s simply in A flat major. It’s just that the tune only uses 6 notes.
Away tae Quarantine the lot ay ye’s…musical bams man, whit’re they like, eh? Aye, away an’ beat it or it’s ma g-string ye’s’ll be gettin right roon ye…
@ianbrotherhood
Ah’m willin tae bet ah’ve got mair g-strings than you’ve hud hot denners!
The bagpipe chanter actually has nine notes – the lowest is the flattened seventh beneath the first tonic (the note obtained when your fingers cover all the holes on the chanter).
At the risk of the whole lot being flung into Quarantine, thanks, I never knew that.
@Albert Herring-
Few years ago the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald carried a story about a local man who fell foul of the law because of his G-string. We were experiencing a rare heatwave, and the accused had taken advantage of the weather to sit on the steps of his home and ‘get some rays’. He had a few cans of powerful lager to help quench his thirst as he sat enjoying the sunshine.
Trouble erupted after some schoolchildren making their way home called their parents, who in turn alerted the authorities. Police rushed to the scene, found the man in a state of undress and the worse for drink, so took him away for questioning. The lawyer for the accused explained to the court that his client had been wearing clothing i.e. the G-string in question, but he had inadvertently worn it back to front.
He was found guilty and given Community Service….strange, but true.
ianbrotherhood
Evidence please. 🙂
Aw come on ianbrotherhood, a heatwave in Ardrossan/Saltcoats? If you’re making stuff up, at least make it credible! Good story though 😀
Albert Herring
Your smile is bigger than mine. How come, what were your keys?
@CameronB-
Well, that’s as much as I remember, really.
(Never did get that G-string back…)
@ianbrotherhood
Don’t suppose you’ve heard how the TUFI thing went today?
@CameronB
I had a big win on the GG’s, enough for the deposit on A flat. 😀
Albert Herring
Congratulations. I hope you wipe your feat when you got home. 🙂
@Jeannie-
Sorry, no, I haven’t. Will certainly post any details I get. (They picked a good day to have it!)
Great tune, love it!
There’s a bagpipe tune, pibroch, composed in 1707 called “the Lament for the Union” or “An Co-aontachadh”. But I’m struggling to find a recording of it online.
@Simon
It’s on the Piobaireachd Society website
link to piobaireachd.co.uk but you need to join to hear it.
Wow!
I’m impressed that so many have actually thought about my joking throw-away comment about playing Finlandia on the bagpipes.
I’m totally musically untalented and know nothing about music – I can’t even clap me hands to my favourite songs at my favourite bands’ concerts – so I was fairly amazed about all that analysis of pentatonic whatevers and c flats and whatnot.
My point was that a piece of music might be important in a struggle for independence.
Scotland hasn’t anything like Sibelius’s Finlandia. Flower of Scotland or Scotland will Flourish or whatever aren’t quite on par with Sibelius’s work… But there are pieces of music that capture the popular imagination.
The Finnish national anthem Maamme/Vårt Land/Our Land is a sort of a German drinking ditty. Nationalist uni students wrote nationalist lyrics and sang it in 1848. And we’re stuck with it. Later on, the lyrics have been slightly re-written, and, I suppose, the music simplified, so that lager-loutish ice hockey fans can holler the anthem. The national anthem usually gets hollered/sung very unmusically.
Our southern neighbour, Estonia, also adopted the same song as their national anthem in the 1920s when they first were independent, and of course reverted back to it when they regained their independence in the early 1990s. The only way to distinguish the Finnish and the Estonian national anthems is to listen if the chorus is repeated. Finnish: chorus repeated. Estonian: chorus not repeated. The stupid thing is that even Olympic and other sporty authorities play the wrong anthem, the shorter Estonian anthem, when they ought to play the longer, Finnish anthem.
Ho-hum. Shit happens.