Freedom Come All Ye

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Summary

Freedom Come All Ye is a traditional song that is much loved and has been covered by many folk musicians. It is often sung on significant occasions. Written by Hamish Henderson in 1960 for the peace marchers at the Holy Loch near Glasgow, Freedom Come-All-Ye" is a Scots language socialist and anti-imperialist song Like many others who write songs about peace he developed his lyric to talk about our history, our future and our hopes. One of Henderson's most important songs, it presents a non-romantic view of the role of the Scots in the world at the time it was written. It describes a wind of change blowing through Scotland and the world, sweeping away exploitation and imperialism. It renounces the tradition of the Scottish soldier both as imperial cannon-fodder and colonial oppressor, mourning the loss of youth sent to invade foreign nations, and looks to a future society which is multiracial and just. ( Information from Scots Language Centre and from The King McHughes) We have chosen to share two versions of this song. The audio clip is by the King McHugh’s Their arrangement of this song is written in the style of a National Anthem and ends with Massed Pipes & Drums playing ¨The Bloody Fields of Flanders¨ the original pipe march used by Henderson when writing this song. This Pipe march was originally written by Pipe Major John MacLallan of the 8th Argylls regiment while fighting in the trenches in northern France in WW1 In 1943, during World War II, Hamish Henderson heard the pipe tune played on the beachhead at Anzio in Italy and remembered it when he came to write ‘The Freedom Come-All-Ye’. The video is of Karine Polwart singing Freedom Come All Ye in the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm in August 2013 when a group consisting of artists, musicians, writers, scientists and filmmakers visited as members of Cape Farewell's "Sea Change" project exploring the landscapes, history and future of the Orkneys.

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