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Dream of Kintail

from A9 by Alex MacDonald

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about

There are several versions of this song, but this is the one my father used to sing. He got it from a Miss Macleod of Caithness in the 1920s. You can hear my father sing it at Tobar an Dualchais. The version composed by Curliana Dingwall in 1904 seems quite different.

lyrics

A Dream of Kintail

1. I’m alone on the frozen prairie, I’m alone on the dazzling snow,
Around the wide horizon where no others come or go,
After a hard day’s marching my weary steps I stay
For I’ve tasted the joys of camping this night by Hudson Bay.

2. As I sit by the blazing log-fire watching the embers fade
I see a map of Scotland ’mid the snow-lit hill and shade;
I sing a song of Scotland alone in the fading light -
A song of the dear old country, how it cheers my heart tonight!

3. I sing a song of Scotland as I lay me down to rest,
And my yearning heart goes out o’er that wild ocean of the west,
To a land of heath-clad mountain - the land that gave me birth,
And I think that with all her failings she’s the fairest land on earth!

4. I dream a dream of Scotland, oh could it last `til morn!
I see the little sheiling by the burn where I was born,
Where I wandered coming home at e’en to gather brambles wild,
And I fancy in my vision that I’m once more a child.

5. Oh! listen to the music of the mountain and the crag,
To the treble of the curlew and the deep bass of the stag,
To the croaking of the raven and the moaning of the gale,
And in fancy I am roaming on the mountains of Kintail!

6. I see the little schoolhouse in the clachan by the burn;
I feel the touch of vanished hand that I can feel no more.
Beneath the shade of Morvern hills I dream of songs I’ve sung,
Of love songs sweet and tender when love and I were young!

7. I still dream on of Scotland and my own beloved Kintail,
As I wander by the river, thro’ the beallach and the hill;
Ben Attow’s highest summit where the eagles used to soar,
And upwards still and higher as I did in days of yore.

8. Deeper still and deeper does my slumber o’er me steal
’til I seem to be dissolvéd ’mid the raptures of my dream;
Then all those misty visions fade wholly from my sight,
And I heave a sigh for Scotland: “My native Land, goodnight!”

Traditional/Curliana Dingwall

credits

from A9, released November 16, 2012
Alex MacDonald: vocals, guitar
Doug MacDonald: bass guitar,bandurria
Rob MacDonald: drums
Cailean Morison: organ
Rebecca Green: backing vocals
Jon Green: trumpet

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about

Alex MacDonald Edinburgh, UK

Grew up in Kildonan Strath, Sutherland, where I loved the psalms and hymns and the old folk songs my father had learned from his drover grand uncle.Went on to Cash, the Clancys and Corries, Tom Paxton and Dylan. Started playing guitar and writing songs in my teens, but only started recording this century with my rock band sons! Either solo or with my band, I've played all over Scotland. ... more

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