Caledonia (cover of the Dougie MacLean song by WarpCanada)

[WarpCanada]

Apologies for attempting this when my voice is nothing as good as dougies, and I've not even got one Scots ancestor in my history, and yet, I can't help it, this song has me in tears whenever I hear it.

Caledonia
(C) Dougie MacLean, 1978

I don't know if you can see the changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid that I might drift away
So I've been telling old stories, singing songs that make me think about where I came from
And that's the reason why I seem so far away today

But let me tell you that I love you, that I think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me and now I'm going home
But if I should become a stranger you know that it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had

I have moved and I've kept on moving, proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing, found others on the way
I have kissed the ladies and left them crying, stolen dreams, yes there's no denying
I have travelled hard, sometimes with conscience flying somewhere with the wind

But let me tell you that I love you, that I think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me and now I'm going home
But if I should become a stranger you know that it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had

Now I'm sitting here before the fire, the empty room, the forest choir
The flames that couldn't get any higher, well they've withered, now they've gone
But I'm steady thinking, my way is clear and I know what I will do tomorrow
When the hands have shaken and the kisses flow, well I will disappear

But let me tell you that I love you, that I think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me and now I'm going home
For if I should become a stranger you know that it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had

[Jean Pierre]

..I think we all must have Scottish ancestry ... It's beautiful, my guy

[TPB]

Very nice when I first saw the title thought you were going to do the BB King song with the same name LOL. Never heard this before but it is nicely done and we can hear the Scott influence
Tim

[Pine]

Like Tim, i was thinking this would be the "other" Caledonia.
Not familiar with this song but the lyrics are great and you sang it like you meant it.
I can hear the Scottish influence also. A wistful ballad...

[WarpCanada]

I think this song has quite the life of its own wherever the members of the Scottish diaspora have settled.  Nova Scotia, a province in Canada, for example, by name, means "new Scotland", and a great deal of the East Coast Canadian culture of Early Canadians has strong ties to Scotland.

My dearly beloved Canadian writer, L.M.Montgomery was married to a Presbyterian minister who opposed the government mandated near-destruction of the Presbyterian tradition in Canada, via a merger into a "United Church of Canada" in 1925. The Ministers name was MacDonald.  Which is just a bit Scottish.  Oh and there's the writer I love from Scotland, George MacDonald, author of "The Princess and the Goblin" and other beloved stories.

  Not only is it odd to think of the government interfering in matters of religion to us now in 2021, it's also funny to note, that what happened was that the Methodists still exist, the Presbyterians still exist, and there's now a third church, the United Church.  So the lovely thing is that when you try to "clean things up" you actually make a bigger mess.

Anyways, I think that my childhood love of all things Scotland related comes (a) from L.M.Montgomery, and (b) from the Scottish people I knew from the Brethren church I attended in Childhood.   There was one particular man, an Elder in the Brethren church, who was a lovely human being, a man with the soul of a poet and a prophet, who quoted poetry and Scripture with equal aplomb, and in whom you could see a great love for all the world, and for everyone he met, a truly wonderful man, who made me think that being a Man is not about how strong you are, but rather how much good you do, and how much love you bring into the world, and how you stoop to care for all who need you.

So let's say I dedicate this song to Jim Wilson. Thank you Jim.  I wish all men on earth were more like him.

[Mike_S]

Heart on the sleeve performance Warren. Nice song and a great version... you put heart and soul into this.

Mike

[Bluesberry]

I know the song well....it gets played, sung, open-mic'd, etc a lot down here in my part of the country....you did a beautiful, emotional version and it is very fine.....really beautiful

[launched]

I don't remember hearing this anywhere myself, but I like this tune, a fine performance!

[StephenM]

I like your voice on this....don't know the song but it's really nice...and introspective...

[Ferryman_1957]

I don't know the original, but this is a nice intimate version Warren, it's gentle and involving. I like the squeezebox(?) sounding accompaniment in there, it sounds like the small group of folks you would get singing this in a pub somewhere. Very nice.

I'm English, so no Scots blood here. Mind you, Caledonia had all us English in tears last weekend in a sports game played with an odd-shaped ball.....