Jan 26: While The Chief ...
(I also know this will break off relations between Andy C and I forever.) So, to be about as wildly off-topic (Oracle, moaning and cuddly toys) as I've ever been ....There's something quintessentially Scottish about The Proclaimers. In fact that's what my partner Madeleine (who is English), dislikes about them most.
Check those lyrics out ...
'My heart was broken, My heart was broken
Sorrow, Sorrow, Sorrow, Sorrow
My heart was broken, My heart was broken'
Oh, and once you've sung the whole song - just start again! The punchline is that this turns out to be a song of faith, optimism and belief It was a while before I read them properly and realised it's probably about having a child or a partner (and about life and all of that other stuff).
However, Craig and Charlie Reid (when you see the video, you may detect they're twins) are both big Hibs fans (as is my daughter). Leith is where Hibs play and, although I grew up a Celtic supporter and will always be a Celtic supporter, I've spent most of my time in Edinburgh in the North - Hibs country - and lived in Leith for a couple of years so I have a huge soft spot for them (softer, now my daughter's joined in). Hibs fans have almost made this song their own and it's peculiar how a song that's nothing to do with being a football supporter reflects those emotions so well.
Then the slide guitar kicks in and you realise that, like most Proclaimer songs, it's heavily influenced by American music.
So what makes it quintessentially Scottish? Well, have several pints of beer to the point when everyone is your best mate (that's the way it works) and bellow it out together, and you'll feel it. (But make sure you don't annoy the neighbours too much!) "Sentimental" seems an inadequate description.
Enough words. This is them performing the song in one of the tents at 'T in the Park', the biggest Scottish music festival.
See - I really need to go home soon, don't I?
I've made a sworn commitment to myself that the next blog will be something to do with computers.
P.S. Oh, okay, two more. This is the one most of you will know. This one is what got me into them in the first place, when they were supporting The Beautiful South on tour. It's about their initial trouble getting a record deal because they insisted on singing in their own accents. Sadly, I couldn't find a video on YouTube.
P.P.S. Please, for goodness' sake, believe that The Proclaimers are not my favourite band. It's just they've been spinning around my head for a few days.
#1 - joel garry 2007-01-27 00:33 - (Reply)
sign language has accents? 
The 500 miles song became a hit 5 years after it was released, after it was in the Benny and Joon movie.
#1.1 - Doug Burns said:
2007-01-27 07:44 - (Reply)
Hee-hee ... fixed
#3 - Doug Burns said:
2007-01-28 11:47 - (Reply)
Don't take this the wrong way, but when I escaped from England, I felt nothing but euphoria... In 15 years, I have never felt homesick
I don't take that the wrong way at all. My dad was in the armed forces so I've spent most of my life moving around and never thought I'd feel remotely tied to one place. That's changed a bit since my daughter was born, or maybe I'm just getting old.
and I've not yet been back, despite having three sisters and a brother safely ensconced there.
Yes, but we're still working on that one, eh? Hey - you could have a family whip-round for business class tickets in November!
It is indeed strange what absence makes you grow fonder ...er, of.
Spot-on - that's what I found surprising and faintly amusing. Drunken, slow-paced, teary anthems, indeed. Although I hesitate to say 'anthem' because I suspect you have some stronger candidates for the description!
