The song was composed by Hamish Henderson, anotehr fascinating character from the early years of the great folk scare.
Formally, Henderson marries a Highland clan march to lyrics which celebrate the return of McLean (a revolutionary socialist, educator and trade Unionist) to glasgow following a period of imprisonment as a communist agitator.
The two genres mary perfectly, and make clear the ways in which scottish trade unionism, at least as practiced for much of last century has tapped into older ways of loyalty and group identity.
It’s also an interesting light to consider communist Glasgow’s other native sons, which include Gaughan as well as someone like George Galloway. The latter was attacked not long back for his roots which appear to lead, via the scots trade unionist movement, towards something approaching Stalinism.
I suppose the charge is accurate enough, as far as it goes, yet it’s simultaneously completely misleading–the communism espoused by the glasgow agitators was always about scotland, or at least the travails of their own people and (more broadly) class. Some, like Hamish Henderson, broke with the Soviets over the 56 invasion of Hungary. I have no idea whether McLain did so as well–or whether Galloway or even Gaughan did the same, but it’s all moot now.
It is a terrific song, however, as a native born Leither, I’d like to contest
your claim that Dick is a native son of Glasgow. He may have been born
there but this paragraph from his own website makes clear that he does
not consider himself Glaswegian:
“Well, firstly, and most importantly, Dick Gaughan is a Scot, from Leith on the southern shore of
the Firth of Forth. Leith, once a separate port, has been part of Edinburgh since the 1920s but
has retained a distinct identity.
Born Richard Peter, the eldest of three children, in 1948. By a sheer accident of timing, this
event took place in Rottonrow Maternity Hospital in Glasgow while his father was temporarily
working as an engine driver at Colville’s Steelworks and so Gaughan spent the first year and a
half of his life in Rutherglen, a period of which he swears he has no recollection at all, not even
of being knocked down by a bus. This must have had a profound effect, however, because
immediately after this he went to Leith to his paternal grandparents with whom he lived until
his own parents returned to Leith some months later and he has never been back to Rutherglen since!”
Edinburgh does of course have its own native-born Socialist icon - James
Connolly - who was executed by the British in 1916 after he led the attack
on the GPO in Dublin during the Easter Rising.
I can’t resist the opportunity yet again to celebrate Gaughan, as fine a singer as any currently walking the planet. He’s also a man of great spirit, intelligence, insight and depth, something evident in his writing as well as his peerless interpretation of traditional song. Here is a man who has not been fooled by any of our current conceits and deceits, especially the big lie of our times that the struggles of the last 150 years for social justice have somehow been rendered redundant. Whenever I feel out of step with the times to the point of deep alienation, Gaughan is one of those I turn to to remind me of who I am and who I aspire to be.
This is Gaughan singing Wild Mountain Thyme, which can be overdone, IMO, but will kill ya here. Includes Emmylou, the McGarrigles, and Jerry Douglas on dobro. Major yum.
I stand corrected about Gaughan’s hometown affiliation.
~~
BTW, does anyone have a copy of Five Hand Reel’s 1978 LP Earl O’ Moray?
It has Gaughan’s first recording of Hamish Henderson’s other great song, The Freedom Come all’ye (well, apart from his other other great song, the 51st (Highland) Division’s Farewell to Sicily, that is.
Another nice tribute to John Maclean by another great Scottish socialist:
Éisgeachd VI: Don Bhreitheamh a thubhairt ri Iain MacGill-Eathain gum b’e Gealtair a bh’ann
Chuala mi gàireachdaich nan reultan,
Lasganaich gealaich agus gréine,
Mothar a’ chruinne-cé 's e 'g iathadh
Luime 's farsaingeachd na bliadhna.
Gàireachdaich, lasganaich is éisgeachd
Bho mullaichean gorma anns na speuran,
Mothal gàire aig na béistean
A magadh ortsa, mo cho-chreutair.
-Somhairle MacGill-Eain
Satire VI: To the Judge who told John Maclean that he was a Coward
I heard the giggling of the stars,
The laughter of the moon and the sun,
The universe’s belly laugh while circling
The bareness and breadth of the year.
Giggling laughter and scorn
From blue peaks in the skies,
The belly laughter of the beasts
Mocking you, my fellow creature.
-Sorley MacLean
Hamish Henderson was the man, by the way. If Scotland ever does wind up splitting from the UK, “Freedom Come All Ye” really NEEDS to become the Scottish National Anthem.
I have a CD compilation drawn from Five Hand Reel’s 3(?) LPs including Earl O’Moray but that track didn’t make the cut. When I last checked that was the only digital source for Five Hand Reel: The Collection on Camden. It’s ten years old now so good luck to anyone still looking for it. I think it’s time for perhaps a double CD featuring the complete Five Hand Reel recordings if they’d fit. A much better band than history seems so far to have conceded. Electric folk music sells well these days so I don’t know why someone hasn’t noticed that this was Gaughan’s band and put two and two together.
