100 greatest lyrics

[A Horse called Juan Face]

badfish remain unimpressed

its LUCKY JIM my 4 leged pal[/quote]

what song?

[badfish]

IT WOW WOW AMAREIA ,,,U DUN ME WRONG

u lik lucky jim

[Hadrians hiring!]

I suppose lyrics can mean things other than songs ?????????

If so to tie in with fave film thread I would nominate best opening line as:

''Last night I dreamed a terrible dream,
beyond the Isle of Skye,
I dreamed a dead man won a war
And that dead man - it was I''

Aint a favourite film, cant even remember the name but the opening line has stayed with me for years.

[bill]

''Last night I dreamed a terrible dream,
beyond the Isle of Skye,
I dreamed a dead man won a war
And that dead man - it was I''

Is one of many verses from "It fell about the Lammas tide/The Battle of Otterbourne"

"But I have dream'd a dreary dream,
Beyond the Isle of Skye;
I saw a dead man win a fight,
And I think that man was I."

[Hadrians hiring!]

Thanks Bill for the pointer,

As far as the plot if I remember it was a dead airman/sailor washed up round a boot Skye in WW2 who was then used as somebodies double to foil the damn Bosch.

[John S]

I never made the first team, just made the first team laugh,
She never came to the phone, she was always in the bath,

[Duke o' Ralston]

Get yer gums roon these lyrics ma boys!


Is there for honesty poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave--we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The man's the gowd for a' that.
What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an' a' that?
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,
A man's a man for a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that,
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.
Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that,
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.
A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that,
But an honest man's aboon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that,
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.
Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that,
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That man to man, the world o'er,
Shall brithers be for a' that.

Certain parts o' this should be transcribed tae create a new national anthem, tremendous sentiments in these words, more like what a national amthem should be about.

[Sheik Yir Erse]

Duke,

Quality indeed. Great sentiments, but surely this should be our new National Anthem? (from Mssrs Williamson & Browne)

SCOTLAND WILL FLOURISH

Scotland will flourish by the sweat of our labour
The strength of our will and the force of our mind
Forget the old battles, those days are over
Hatred corrupts and friendship refines

Let the Scots be a nation proud of their heritage
With an eye to the future and a heart to forgive
And let us be rid of those bigots and fools
Who will not let Scotland live and let live

Let us govern over country wisely and fairly
Let each man and woman work with a will
And Scotland will flourish secure in the knowledge
That we reap our own harvest and ring our own till

And let us be known for our kind hospitality
A hand that is openly proferred to friends
A hard working people, proud and unbending
Scotland will thrive and win out in the end

[Duke o' Ralston]

[quote="Sheik Yir Erse"]Duke,

Quality indeed. Great sentiments, but surely this should be our new National Anthem? (from Mssrs Williamson & Browne)

SCOTLAND WILL FLOURISH

Can't argue with that, any idea how thie tune goes or where I can hear it. Nice sharp lyrics which do lend themselves to an anthem, easily learned which means it could sound good in a packed Hampden or Murrayfield.

[Bobbie En Tejas]

I like that! How true is the line, "hatred corrupts and friendship refines."

[DOUBLE A]

Duke,

Quality indeed. Great sentiments, but surely this should be our new National Anthem? (from Mssrs Williamson & Browne)

SCOTLAND WILL FLOURISH

Can't argue with that, any idea how thie tune goes or where I can hear it. Nice sharp lyrics which do lend themselves to an anthem, easily learned which means it could sound good in a packed Hampden or Murrayfield.

Duke, PM me your email address and i will send you a live version, if i can work out this computer thingy

[Sheik Yir Erse]

Duke,

If Double A doesn't manage to get it to you drop me a note with your mail and I'll fire you off a copy. The first time I ever heard this song, I thought to myself - "that just about sums it all up" There are so many good lines in it.

"Forget the old battles, those days are over"

"Let us be rid of these bigots and fools"

"Let us govern our country wisely and fairly"

"Let us be known for our kind hospitality"

I can hear it being sung, not only at Hampden and Murrayfield, but the world over. I know we're getting off thread slightly but if there was ever to be vote for a new national anthem - this should be the only one on the list

PS. If anyone else wants a copy let me know and I'll mail it to you, it's only about 2Mb.

[Raging Borach]

Good choices, but I just can't see past Hamish Henderson's magnificent "Freedom Come All Ye", his words set to the pipe tune "The Bloody Fields of Flanders". I've heard it sung just about every way from unaccompanied to full rock band treatment over the past 30 years and every time I get the shiver down the spine, the lump in the throat and my wee heart bursting with pride.

Roch the win i the clear day's dawin
Blaws the clouds heilster-gowdie owre the bay
But thair's mair nor a roch win blawin
Thro the Great Glen o the warl the day
It's a thocht that wad gar our rottans
Aa thae rogues that gang gallus fresh an gay
Tak the road an seek ither loanins
Wi thair ill-ploys tae sport an play

Nae mair will our bonnie callants
Merch tae war whan our braggarts crousely craw
Nor wee weans frae pitheid an clachan
Murn the ships sailin doun the Broomielaw
Broken faimilies in launs we've hairriet
Will curse 'Scotlan the Brave' nae mair, nae mair
Black an white ane-til-ither mairriet
Mak the vile barracks o thair maisters bare

Sae come aa ye at hame wi freedom
Never heed whit the houdies croak for Doom
In yer hous aa the bairns o Aidam
Will fin breid, barley-bree an paintit room
Whan MacLean meets wi's friens in Springburn
Aa thae roses an geeans will turn tae blume
An a black laud frae yont Nyanga
Dings the fell gallows o the burghers doun.

[Sheik Yir Erse]

RB - I'm afraid this does hee haw for me. It may as well be in French for all I can make out. I could read this a thousand times and still have little clue as to what it's all about. I think a national anthem should be reasonably simple, to the point and understood by 90% of the population and not be about things that I have no idea what they are without an auld scots dictionary ......

heilster-gowdie?
bonnie callants?
barley-bree?
and Nyanga? Which if memory serves me correctly is in the East Highlands of Zimbabwe. It's a beautiful place, but fail to see the relevance of that to the Scottish National anthem?

But each to their own, I'm sure if I sat down and went thru it with a dictionary it would be a great song - but just not my cup of tea I'm afraid.

[bill]

My sentiments entirely Sheik,so I went and found out what it was all about,so hopefully all will be explained.

Still not my cup of tea even after the interpretation.

Interpretation in English.

Roch the win i the clear day's dawin
Blaws the clouds heilster-gowdie owre the bay
But thair's mair nor a roch win blawin
Thro the Great Glen o the warl the day

It's a rough wind in the clear day's dawning
Blows the clouds head-over-heels across the bay
But there's more than a rough wind blowing
Through the Great Glen of the world today

the Great Glen is the rift valley which runs diagonally across Scotland, roughly separating Highland and Lowland Scotland, and is used here as a symbol of division, inequality, racism, exploitation and prejudice

It's a thocht that wad gar our rottans

It's a thought that would make our rodents,

in this context "rottans" can also be interpreted as "vermin"; it is a reference to opportunists, exploiters

Aa thae rogues that gang gallus fresh an gay
Tak the road an seek ither loanins
Wi thair ill-ploys tae sport an play

All those rogues who strut and swagger,
Take the road and seek other pastures
To carry out their wicked schemes

Nae mair will our bonnie callants
Merch tae war whan our braggarts crousely craw

No more will our fine young men
March to war at the behest of jingoists and imperialists

"crousely craw" has echoes of the carrion crow, the scavenger; these two lines are refering to the number of young Scots who joined the British Army out of dire economic necessity and were sent to colonised nations to do unto them what had previously been done unto us

Nor wee weans frae pitheid an clachan
Murn the ships sailin doun the Broomielaw

Nor will young children from mining communities and rural hamlets
Mourn the ships sailing off down the River Clyde

this reference to "ships sailing" carries a double image, that of the emigrant ships and also of warships. The images of mining and rural communities are used to bring together industrial and rural Scotland as one.

Broken faimilies in launs we've hairriet
Will curse "Scotlan the Brave" nae mair, nae mair

Broken families in lands we've helped to oppress
will never again have reason to curse the sound of advancing Scots

here "Scotland the Brave" refers to the sound of bagpipes announcing the arrival of Scots troops, a sound which came to be feared throughout the British Empire

Black an white ane-til-ither mairriet
Mak the vile barracks o thair maisters bare

Black and white, united in friendship and marriage,
Will result in the military garrisons being adandoned and empty

i.e., will bring and end to Imperialism.

Sae come aa ye at hame wi freedom

So come all you who love freedom

"at hame wi", literally "at home with" can have several meanings in this context - who live with, who love, who already have

Never heed whit the houdies croak for Doom

Pay no attention to the prophets of doom

the "houdie" is another reference to the carrion crow

In yer hous aa the bairns o Aidam
Will fin breid, barley-bree an paintit room

In your house all the children of Adam
Will be welcomed with food, drink and hospitality

the unwritten laws of hospitality are historically sacred to the Scots

Whan MacLean meets wi's friens in Springburn

When the spirit of John MacLean returns to his people

John MacLean, Glasgow schoolteacher and anti-imperialist

Aa thae roses an geeans will turn tae blume
An a black laud frae yont Nyanga
Dings the fell gallows o the burghers doun.

All the flowers will blossom
And black Africa will bring crashing down
All Imperialism's dreadful apparatus of oppression

"dings doun", literally "tears down"