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Lyr Req/Add: Take Me Back (Andy Stewart)

10 Feb 97 - 05:31 PM (#2082)
Subject: Take Me Back (Scotland I am Coming Home to
From: Jack Harvey

I'm looking for the lyrics to "Take me Back" which has the line "Scotland I am coming home to you" in it.


11 Feb 97 - 12:21 AM (#2105)
Subject: RE: Take Me Back (Scotland I am Coming Home to
From: Alex

Written and recorded by Andy Stewart (not to be confused with Andy M. Stewart ex of Silly Wizard) circa 1962?


11 Feb 97 - 05:02 AM (#2115)
Subject: RE: Take Me Back (Scotland I am Coming Home to
From: Anne Cormack

Jack, I remember a bit of the chorus I think!

Take me back, take me back again where heather hills are high, And I hear the mavis singing in the morning, For there's no place on earth like the land of my birth, Oh my Scotland I am coming home to you.

I might have the whole thing on tape somewhere, I'll have a look for you.

Anne


11 Feb 97 - 10:37 AM (#2123)
Subject: Lyr Add: BONNIE SCOTLAND (from Margo)
From: Bobby O'Brien

This song's correct title is "Bonnie Scotland" and here are the words:

BONNIE SCOTLAND
Songwriter??

1. In a foreign [or "far and"?] distant land
By a fair and sunny strand,
There I met a highland laddie in the mornin';
And he sang me this song
As we proudly marched along
Of the land of lochs and glens and silver seas:

CHORUS: Take me back; take me back again,
Where heather hills are high,
And I'll hear the mavis singin' in the mornin';
For there's no place on earth
Just like the homeland of my birth.
Bonnie Scotland, I am comin' home to you.

2. Oh, great wonders I've seen
In this country I have been,
And there's beauty in the land where I have wandered;
And big cities I have walked
From Sydney to New York
But give me my lochs and glens and silver seas. CHORUS

3. Oh, great wonders I've seen
In this country I have been,
And there's beauty in the lands where I have wandered;
But while I travel free,
Still my heart keeps callin' me
To the land of lochs and glens and silver seas. CHORUS

Recorded by Margo, on "Margo's Greatest Hits, Volume One," available through Irish Records International 617-878-7936.


18 Feb 97 - 01:08 PM (#2351)
Subject: RE: Take Me Back (Scotland I am Coming Home to
From: dick greenhaus

Thanx, Bobby.


17 Apr 03 - 01:54 PM (#935605)
Subject: RE: Take Me Back (Scotland I am Coming Home to
From: GUEST,Maggie

Hi !!    Thank you so much --- I'm now able to fiddle and sing the song at the same time lol Anybody need the music for this tune, just let me know.             Thanks again !!!       Maggie


17 Apr 03 - 02:15 PM (#935626)
Subject: RE: Take Me Back (Scotland I am Coming Home to
From: Malcolm Douglas

Do note, though (as I'm sure you have) that it's mavis, not maypole!!


17 Apr 03 - 08:32 PM (#935718)
Subject: RE: Take Me Back (Scotland I am Coming Home to
From: GUEST,sterlsling

Yes, thank you!
It is strange that this song can't be found on the
internet through a Google Search.....good thing that
we have the Mudcat! :)


18 Apr 03 - 02:51 AM (#935820)
Subject: RE: Take Me Back (Scotland I am Coming Home to
From: GUEST,Boab

Och, Malcolm! ---an' here wis me wantin' tae be "the yin that kens", juist this yince.....


19 May 03 - 01:13 PM (#955545)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bonnie Scotland
From: Tam the bam fraeSaltcoatsScotland

Take me Back was written by Andy Stewart and not by 'Margo' all she did was recored the song, Andy Stewart wrote and recorded the song.
Tom


20 May 03 - 02:25 AM (#955959)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bonnie Scotland
From: GUEST,Boab

Tom frae Saltcoats---has the auld "Harbour Band' gone defunct nowadays? Tam and Dusty et al used to give a good account; Tam's awa' now, I understand. Got some of the news from Maw Burns, Irvine--sad about Tam.....


20 May 03 - 10:40 AM (#956181)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bonnie Scotland
From: MC Fat

Tom , are you the Tom that I've heard so much about that used to work in Fagans in Sheffield and play with George/Gina Le Faux


13 Feb 05 - 01:40 PM (#1408247)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bonnie Scotland
From: GUEST,lafleur7@telus.net

I remember (my name is Gordon Vaughan Sinclair) a verse that went:

I have the ocean roar
On your wild Pacific shores
You're number two,
No longer will I wander...

At any rate..if someone could mail me the rest of this...I would be happy and most greatful

Regards,
Gordon


25 Feb 07 - 12:01 PM (#1978906)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bonnie Scotland
From: GUEST

In a far distant land by a fair and golden strand
There I met a Highland laddie in the morning
and he sang me his song as he proudly marched a long
Oh my Scotland I am coming home to you.

I have stood on the shore where the great Pacific roared
from the mountains to the vallies I have wandered
But there's no place on earth like the homeland of me birth
Oh my Scotland I am coming home to you.


26 Feb 07 - 08:08 AM (#1979741)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bonnie Scotland
From: Jim I

Jings! I thought, when I started reading thia thread, that I didn't know the song - but then I started singing it and I could visualize the wee man swinging his tartan-clad hips.

How memory sometimes fails us but often comes good in the end.

Jim


17 Jun 07 - 11:03 PM (#2079629)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bonnie Scotland
From: GUEST,Guest

Take me back, take me back again where sausages are square
And ......................... [MISSING LINE]
Where a bottle of VP costs you only 50 p
Oh my Scotland I am coming home to you.

Can anyone complete the missing line of this parody?


28 Apr 11 - 05:05 AM (#3143877)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Bonnie Scotland
From: GUEST,Ricky East Kilbride Dodson

That wis rer ..Ah've been lookin fur this fur years..Been in Australia 48 years an the words mean mair an mair tae me ..coas I've been in 32 odd countries noo!


19 May 11 - 07:11 PM (#3157250)
Subject: Lyr Add: TAKE ME BACK (Andy Stewart)
From: GUEST,Dave Rado

The song's correct title is NOT Bonnie Scotland, it's Take Me Back, and as someone else mentioned, it was written by Andy Stewart. The full lyrics are as follows:

TAKE ME BACK
Andy Stewart

1. In a far distant land
By a fair and golden strand
There I met a highland laddie in the morning
And he sang me his song
As he proudly marched along
Of a land of lochs and glens and silver sea.

CHORUS: Take me back; take me back again,
Where heather hills are high
And I'll hear a mavis singing in the morning;
For there's no place on earth
Like the homeland of my birth.
O my Scotland, I am coming home to you.

2. Now there's wonders I've seen
In the countries I have been
And there's beauty in the lands where I have wandered
But while I travelled free
Yet my heart kept calling me
To the land of lochs and glens and silver sea. CHORUS

3. I have stood on the shores
Where the great Pacific roars
From out yonder to down under I have wandered
And great cities I've walked
In from Sydney to New York
But give me my lochs and glens and silver sea. CHORUS

4. From Stranraer to Kintyre
From Kilcreggan up to Skye
From Cape Ross to Aberdeen and Border Shieling
That's the world of my home
And I'm longing now to roam
By the land of lochs and glens and silver sea. CHORUS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A recording by Andy Stewart is available on Amazon. It doesn't include the last verse, so I can't be certain that I've got the lyrics of that verse 100% right, but I've heard that verse sung, and it's pretty accurate. The rest is definitely accurate.


I am NOT a fan of Andy Stewart's style of singing, and I can't stand the way he sings this song - he conveys no feeling whatsoever, and there is a complete lack of musicality in his singing. I have no idea why he was such a popular singer. But I love the song itself, and to his credit, he did write it, so I can't fault him as a songwriter. I think both the words and tune are lovely, and the song is in the great tradition of "missing home" Scottish folk songs, such as Westering Home, The Dark Island, Caledonia, etc. I think it compares well with any of those, provided one sings it oneself and forgets about the horrible way he sings it! It's a shame that no good Scottish folk groups (such as the Corries) ever covered it.


08 Dec 14 - 04:26 PM (#3683686)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Bonnie Scotland/Take Me Back (Stewart
From: GUEST,Guest

There ain't no Cape Ross - but I think Cape Wrath fits what I hear.

From Stranraer to Kintyre
From Kilcreggan up to Skye
From Cape Wrath to Inverness and Border Shieling
That's the world of my home and I'm longing now to roam
In the land of lochs and glens and silver seas

As to the author this is on the website under EMI(1960-1962)

http://www.andystewart.info/emi/

"This tune was written not by an exile longing for his homeland, but by a farmer who had moved from one farm to another, and was missing his former home. Mr. Willie Brewster, the composer, is a well-known figure in the Scottish Strathspey and Reel Society. I was in Perth, Australia, and feeling gye homesick when I wrote these words to the song".

The original melody for this song is 'The Meeting of the Waters', a traditional tune alleged to originate in the Borders and referring to the meeting of the Gala Water and the Tweed. The tune was extended from two to four parts by Pipe Major Donald MacLeod (1917-1982).

'Take Me Back' has never been issued in any form with a stereo mix, therefore it is unknown whether one was prepared or not. 'The Road and the Miles to Dundee' has been issued on several albums in stereo, initially on the US LP 'Andy Stewart's Scotland (Bonnie Ballads of the Highlands)' (Capitol 1962).

Year of Release: 1961
Label: Top Rank
Catalogue Number: JAR-594 (Mono)

TAKE ME BACK (Andy Stewart)
With Orchestra conducted by Bernard Ebbinghouse.


20 Feb 15 - 08:45 PM (#3688384)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Take Me Back (Andy Stewart)
From: GUEST

You're right about Cape Wrath (which I visited last summer, and it's beautiful - and I had a cup of tea there in what I believe to be the most remote cafe in Britain). Thanks also for the fascinating information about the tune's origin - I'd always assumed Stewart wrote it. But the lyrics he wrote for it are wonderful: so evocative, so perfect for the melody, and so different from what I'd expect from him, given my overall impression of him, which is that he's pretty bland. He obviously has hidden depths. I still think his own recording of it is terrible though, and I wish a really good Scottish folk group would record it.


20 Feb 15 - 08:47 PM (#3688385)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req/Add: Take Me Back (Andy Stewart)
From: Dave Rado

Sorry I forgot to log in before posting the previous post - it was mine, and not intentionally anonymous.