You'll tak the high road and...

You'll tak the high road and...


                                            the battle of Cullodin


A song that gained a great response from Greg was the old Scottish tune "Loch Lomond" that most Americans enjoyed for the sweet melody and wistfull lyrics. Our entire lives we heard the song and thought it was a tribute to the Scottish countryside. That is until Greg heard the true story on a piece done for NPR by pianist Leslie Howard in 2005. Like the folk song Shenandoah it is really a tragic tale and Greg often retold the story with reverence whenever I put the tune on our shared playlists. The song was written or invented way back in the mid 18th century, most probably around 1756. It involved another uprising of the Jacobeans in Scotland led by Charles, son of James (Bonny Prince Charlie) who were fighting the Protestant government from the House of Hanover who were oppresssing the Scots and their clan culture. The Jacobeans (supporters of James II and the Stuarts) had fought against these usurpers throughout the 1700's with little success. It all came to a head at the Battle of Culloden where the Jacobeans were defeated and many of their soldiers were captured and imprisoned at Carlyle Castle or taken to London for show trials where they were all judged guilty. There are different interpretation of the song and explanations. NPR says that the high road and low road were highways where the relatives of the executed soldiers had to walk to return home.  In reality, poor Scots travelled the low road that was lined with pikes festooned with the heads of vanquished Scots from London to Glasgow.  In other interpretations of the song there are two Scottish soldiers who are captives near the border. One of them it to be set  free and the other to be executed. In Scottish lore anyone who dies outside the mother land must take the "low road" back home to rest. The soldier who is freed will take the high road back to his defeated homeland.  While the song brings up beautiful memories of the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond the executed man as he dies can return and be in Scotland before the free man who passes on foot. While the song is attributed to Lady Jane Scott, she said she only wrote down what she heard from a boy singing o\in the street.



 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Athletic Club Flower shop

Image
  Athletic Club Flower shop      This phrase is actually the telephone greeting at Greg's uncle Johnny Tassano's flower shop at 808 W. 8th street near Flower street in downtown L.A. Greg loved the place and culled many a story and line from his experiences at a place he worked and visited fondly. Even when he wasn't employed he drove around with cousin Kent (Kevin Smith) and they had a ball observing the absurdities of modern living in the Southland. The phone was answered by different employees and each had a unique turn of "Athletic Club...flowershopppp" There was owner John Tassano, right-hand man Ronald P. Lord, "Speed," a delivery man, and Carmen who cut flowers and told odd anecdotes such as the origin of pizza. I believe Greg and Kevin could go on for weeks about the people they met on their deliveries as they set forth across the city of the angels to spread floral joy. This might include places to eat, fascinating neighborhoods, cemeteries, lone...
Read more

Oil and gas crowd

Image
  Oil and gas crowd       This one comes from cousin  Kevin's bold political action volunteering for the Fred Harris presidential campaign in 1976. Kevin got a terrific piece on the campaign published as an editorial in the Los Angeles Times and also developed an imitation of the candidates speaking voice. Fred Harris was everything you would want in a public servant  and had come close to being asked to be Vice President but his brand was not widely known. Despite representing Oklahoma as a senator Harris managed to be an admirable liberal who favored the Great Society and economic democracy. Way ahead of his time Fred wanted to wrest control away from corporations and millionaires. He travelled in a recreation vehicle wth young Smith aboard to cut down on costs and was as grass roots as it gets. Fred was married to native-american LaDonna and to this day we have buttons stating "LaDonna for First Lady." Kevin would repeat the phrase from Fred's speeches a...
Read more

alright mother

Image
  alright mother- “You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.” —Carol Ann Duffy  Greg was always delighted by a story told by his mother in law about a "sortie" dinner party attended by a Doctor "Putty" Putnam who had been forced to attend an opera by his wife. When asked by a clueless guest if he enjoyed the opera, his response was  "fuck you!" When I was visiting Bear Cove and sitting next to the matriarch Greg goaded her into telling the tale. But a rum n' coke had loosened "Minnie's" tongue and when she got to Putty's answer she blurted a rather hard FUCK YOU!  Roy, hearing his bride curse thusly said across the table "Alright mother!"
Read more