Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)

Subject: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: John Hill
Date: 13 Aug 99 - 12:38 PM

Lyrics in the digital tradition - Please note that the second verse 7th line should read "I have travelled hard with conscience flying" ... not "with coattails flying"

Subject: RE: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: marion
Date: 13 Aug 99 - 02:55 PM

True. Also, the line

"When the hands are shaken and the kisses flow"

should read, "the kisses blown."

There are a few other differences from the way I know it that are minor. But I'm not sure if corrections suggested on this forum get to the right ears or not.

Subject: RE: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Susan of DT
Date: 13 Aug 99 - 10:08 PM

Yes, you reach the right eyes here, but we may not get to every thread every time, so it is safer to e-mail them to Dick at [e-mail]. New editions come out twice a year, so you won't see instant corrections.

Subject: re: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Joe Offer
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 02:17 PM

Well, it looks like we never got a completely correct version of these lyrics into the Digital Tradition. Here is what we have. If somebody is willing to post a definitive transcription of the lyrics, plus copyright information, that would be very nice. Post it right here in this thread, complete. Be sure to cite your source, which should be some official, printed transcription of the song (the DT version has some interesting mondegreens, so I suppose it was done by somebody who listened to a recording). I'll make sure it gets into the Digital Tradition.
It would also be nice to have a MIDI. If you e-mail it to me, I'll post it in Mudcat MIDIs.Thanks.
-Joe Offer (click to e-mail)-

---

CALEDONIA (2) (current DT version)
(Dougie MacLean)

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

Oh, 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
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 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 traveled hard with coattails flying
Somewhere in the wind

(Chorus)
Now I'm sitting here before the fire
The empty room, the forest choir
The flames that could not get any higher
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 are shaken and the kisses flow
Then I will disappear

Copyright 1982 Plant Life Music Ltd.
@home @Scots
filename[ CALDONI
CC

---

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Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Jeri
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 02:23 PM

Joe, the words don't look wrong to me, although there may be minor mistakes. I'm not sure where my CD is, but I at least know the tune pretty well. Will do a MIDI a bit later unless someone else gets it first.

Subject: Lyr Add: CALEDONIA (Dougie MacLean)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 02:40 PM

OK. I found printed lyrics.Have I got it right?
-Joe Offer-

---

CALEDONIA (2)
(Dougie MacLean)

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
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

CHORUS
Let me tell you that I love you
and 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


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 traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying,
somewhere with the wind
(Chorus)

Now I'm sitting here before the fire,
the empty room, the forest choir
The flames that couldn't get any higher -
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 flowed
then I will disappear
(Chorus)

Copyright 1982 Plant Life Music Ltd.

from the 1983 Dunkeld Records album "Craigie Dhu"
lyrics from the CD booklet "The Dougie MacLean Collection" (Putamayo World Music)

The CD booklet says "When the hands have shaken and the kisses flowed," and I think that's what I hear on the recording. I think I might prefer to sing "when the hands are shaken and the kisses blown." JRO

@home @Scots
filename[ CALDONI
JRO

---

Click to play

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Strupag
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 02:51 PM

I think I might put this one on my thread "favourite folk stories" also but this thread reminded me of a story that Dougie once told me.
When Caledonia became an actual top twenty hit here in Scotland, Dougie was travelling back home from a tour. He phoned home and his wife said "Could you pop in somehwere and get a bottle of whatever"
Dougie was passing a bar in Glasgow in quite a rough district.
He stopped to go in for his "carry-oot" and he saw a wee drunk man staggering out of the bar with the loaded plastic bag entwining with his legs. Following him was a wee wifey with curlers still in and she was shouting, "Yer jest anoot the maist useless drunkin thing that has ivir put legs in a pair of troosers!"
The wee drunk man turned round, held his hands apart, still holding his carry-oot, and sang "Let Me Tell You How Ah Luv Ya"

Noo that's whit ah ca' acclaimation!

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Cluin
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 05:18 PM

*LOL*

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Noreen
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 08:58 PM

the empty room, the forest choir
means: what, exactly?

I've always thought it was meant to be
the empty room afore is quiet

mondegreened into submission by repeated reinforcement.

Anyone ever ask Dougie for his words?

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Jeri
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 09:06 PM

I'd think the room's empty because all his stuff is packed or everyone else is gone. Forest choir is what I hear on summer nights when various critters (frogs, crickets, birds, etc.) get very loud. If you don't love it, it could drive you nuts.

Joe got the last set of lyrics from Dougie's CD. Should be pretty close!

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 29 Jan 03 - 09:41 PM

In the context, I always took "Forest Choir" to be the sound of the "Sitting here, befor the fire..."

As in the sound wood makes when it's burning...

Joe... ya those last set of lyrics are right...

;-)

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Noreen
Date: 30 Jan 03 - 08:36 AM

Clinton, that makes more sense to me, thank you.
(Jeri, I couldn't work out what those sorts of sounds of the forest had to do with the rest of the song.)

I've loved this song for a long time.

Lost the friends that I needed losing-
found others on the way...

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Jeri
Date: 30 Jan 03 - 08:57 AM

Oh. I thought maybe the 'forest choir' was something that didn't make sense in English.

You see, he's sitting there in an empty room with a fire going because it's cold, and he's got the windows open, listening to...er, no. Maybe he just came back in from a walk?

It rhymes.

I worked on a midi yesterday. Easy verse melody, but the chorus is a ba..... it's tough. Rhythm oddities.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Noreen
Date: 30 Jan 03 - 09:09 AM

*grin*

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Strupag
Date: 30 Jan 03 - 09:06 PM

Actually Dougie wrote this song in Brittany,
He told me this once in Ullapool.
Atfer he left the "tannies" (Tannahill Weavers) he was busking and giging with two Irish boys ( Desi something - the might have gone on to form Cran)
Anyway, Dougie said that after doing a bit of busking in Rennes, the boys bought a carry out and headed north for the coast. Des was emotional with the drink and was looking out to sea and kept on saying " Ireland's over there!"
Dougie thought of a wee country just east of Ireland and went away into a corner and wrote Caledonia.
That's how I was told it anyway.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Declan
Date: 31 Jan 03 - 05:35 AM

Desi Wilkinson. Great Flute player !

Was it Billy Connolly who used to go on about songs about Scotland so far away - the drunker you get the further it gets.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Trevor
Date: 31 Jan 03 - 06:59 AM

And look at this
for a great web site.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: OldPossum
Date: 01 Feb 03 - 08:15 AM

I have a photocopy of the cover of the album Caledonia by Dougie MacLean & Alan Roberts, which has lyrics on the cover, and I can confirm that the song as posted by Joe Offer is correct. The credits and copyright info is also correct.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: GUEST,Cluin
Date: 01 Feb 03 - 12:37 PM

I have the original album itself (great album) that your photocopy came from. I also have both a vinyl and CD copies of "Craigie Dhu" where Dougie re-recorded the song. Both sets of lyrics agree with Joe O.'s posted words above.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Jeri
Date: 01 Feb 03 - 12:49 PM

I've done a MIDI and you can hear it here.[Dead Link]

I'll get a MIDIText file up here later, but I really want to un-screw-up the ABC part first. The one problem I have is that the rhythm and sometimes melody changes from verse to verse. How to get the flavor of the tune without making it overly complicated?

If you think something's messed up with the MIDI or that it should be simpler in places than it is, please PM me. Yes, there is a gap between the first and second halves of verses - he's doing intstumental stuff in there.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 05:20 PM

Do any of you guys have the piano chords for this tune?
Tx,

Subject: RE: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Uncle Jaque
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 11:58 AM

One of my favorites as well.

Iv'e sort of worked out the chords myself; Dougie does it in "F" as near as I can figure, but since i sing baritone and am lazy when it comes to barred chords, I transposed to "G" and it sounds OK to me and my Domestic Management.

It's got a syncopated 6:8 beat to it, doesn't it?

As much as I favor fingerpicking, this is one I use a thumb-strum for (picks are for tuning a 12-string where my finger won't fit, as far as I'm concerned) with the accent on the first beat;

"ONE-twothreefourfivesix;ONE-twothreefour..." etc.

It makes a jolly grand campfire ditty, to be sure.

I only wish I could accompany myself on the whistle, but haven't figured out how to sing and play guitar & whistle @ the same time.
If any of you get that trick down pat, please drop me a clue, won't you? {8^{D~

UJ in ME

PS: How drunk does one have to be in order to get far away from Maine? **~~{B>{P~

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Strollin' Johnny
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 12:15 PM

Uncle Jacque - I'm sure Dougie does it (and so do I!) in Open 'C' tuning (CGCGCE) capoed at the 4th Fret, which makes it in E? Check out Dougie's Interactive Songbook CD-ROM, it's on there. Come back and hit me if I'm wrong!

Re the small variances in what people believe are the 'proper' words, I've noticed that performers (Dougie included) often sing slightly different words to the ones printed in sleeve notes. Sing whichever you prefer, nobody will mind! :0)

Johnny

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: AWG
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 10:28 PM

Ahhhhhh..... Caledonia. Never heard this song until Lisa Kelly (from Celtic Woman) sang it. Wow !! She really nails it !! I bet Dougie MacLean would be oh so proud.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 12:09 AM

Must say I get a kick out of those earlier lyrics above - "with coattails flying" - I see this guy in some formal Victorian coat just tearing down the road with an angry husband in hot pursuit ...

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 12:34 AM

Imagaine, for instance, this lady's man trying to get out of town in a hurry ...

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Ross
Date: 18 Apr 07 - 08:47 AM

I sometimes sing....the kisses flowered

which is a nice deviation

Someone at our folk club said she had seen Dougie Maclean in concert and he had said he had thought about writing the song whilst sitting around a camp fire in France thinking about how he was missing home

The empty room, afore was quiet; has always confused me

Ock, there's a Jock, in the loch

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: GUEST,kenny
Date: 18 Apr 07 - 10:06 AM

I can add a little information to some of what was said above :
Dougie had met up with 3 North of Ireland musicians in Brittany after quitting the "Tannies". They were Desi Wilkinson – still playing with "Cran",- and also fiddler Paddy O'Neill and a banjo player who I never met. They all went over to Belfast, and Desi, along with a singer/guitar-player known as "Cos" came over to Scotland with Dougie, first to Dunkeld, then to Aberdeen, Inverness and the Thurso Folk Festival. We then headed over to Ullapool and stayed there busking for the best part of a week before hitching back to Dunkeld. Desi and Cos then managed to get a single lift all the way to the South of France. Happy days – would have been 1977, I reckon, and "Caledonia" was sung many times in that 10 days or so.
[ Bloody hell – that's 30 years ago !!! ]

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: GUEST,Mjm
Date: 10 Dec 07 - 08:31 AM

Need a good midi file so that we can play caledonia whilst we sign the wedding register! Please help.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Mr Happy
Date: 10 Dec 07 - 09:26 AM

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KMpSg78s684

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 09 Mar 08 - 05:06 PM

I am deeply disappointed that in the video linked to above , Dougie has succumbed to political correctness and substituted "I have tried , and kept on trying" for the much more incisive "I have kissed the ladies, and left them crying"

shame on you, Mclean ...

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Rasener
Date: 09 Mar 08 - 05:31 PM

What I like, is the youngsters who are doing this number. Even if you don't like their version, I think that doesn't matter, its more that they are doing it and getting it to the younger audiences.

Paulo Nutini - Caledonia

This young lady who I got to appear at Faldingworth Live at the age of 16 and is really on the up, with great comments from Kate Rusby in support and I met her mother last night at Farnsfield Accoustic and she told how well she is doing with her new band and a record contract and Bob Harris on Radio 2 who is giving her some great reviews, as well as many others.
Funnily enough last Tuesday , I played this to my friend and next door neighbour Simon Johnston who is a fine performer and song writer, and he was just blown away with her.

Ruth Notman - Caledonia

Keep the youngsters coming on, they will make sure folk survives.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Mar 08 - 08:27 PM

I prefer the deep, rich, throaty version our Alba does, but you are right, Villan, it is wonderful the youngsters are keeping it alive. Thanks for the links.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Genie
Date: 12 Jun 08 - 08:13 PM

Murray, yes, you can see and hear Dougie here singing "I have tried, and I've kept on trying" instead of "I've kissed the ladies and left them crying," but I don't see the lyric revision as "succumbing" to "political correctness." It could be he just wanted the lyrics to be a little more universally relevant rather than tied so much to his own personal biography. ; D

Personally, when I first heard the song with the "kissed the ladies and left them crying" lyric, that line sort of stood out like a sore thumb in an otherwise beautiful, sentimental (but not saccharine) tribute to one's homeland. I.e., the line didn't really "mesh" well with the rest of the song. Dougie's hardly the first songwriter to tweak a lyric here or there as he got older (and maybe wiser?).

Whatever.   I think when other people sing the song and the line about being a heartbreaker doesn't "clang" with their own experience, the "kept on trying" line is probably a better fit. But if you've been a love-'em-and-leave-'em type, by all means sing the original line. *g*


As Johnny said, " the small variances in what people believe are the 'proper' words, I've noticed that performers (Dougie included) often sing slightly different words to the ones printed in sleeve notes. Sing whichever you prefer, nobody will mind! :0)"

I don't think these minor modifications make much difference -- unless an original line was somehow much more profound or poetic than subsequent modifications.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Genie
Date: 12 Jun 08 - 08:32 PM

Another video of Dougie singing Caledonia.   On this one, it's clear that he sings "conscience," not "coattails."
And I think the "forest choir" line is great imagery.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 02:49 AM

In case anyone didn't know, the other chap on stage in that last clip is journalist Colin Irwin. He was interviewing Dougie for an "In Conversation With" event the day after his concert (Loughborough Folk Festival 06). He hadn't actually played Caledonia in the concert set, but Colin got him to play it the following day.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: GUEST,Glib
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 12:28 PM

I had heard a version "kissed the lassies, left them crying" which also had the "coattails flying" that i was looking for. Looks like it's not going to be easy to find.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: The Sandman
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 01:45 PM

Sorry ,no offence intended Ruth but it is of no interest to me whatsoever,who the other person sitting at the table is.
it does not alter my perception of the clip.
I believe when we listen to music,particularly a song such as this,that its advantageous to close ones eyes and just listen.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 23 Aug 09 - 04:39 PM

I prefer "coattails flying" to "conscience flying", even if it's not what the man wrote.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Ross
Date: 24 Aug 09 - 03:18 AM

Eastenders version;

I've punched the ladies and left them crying

Subject: Lyr Add: CALEDONIA (Dougie Maclean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 30 Aug 09 - 08:17 AM

As was pointed out by Murray Macleod as long ago as 2001, there's a mistake in the Lyrics in the DT in the second verse (shown in the DT as Caledonia 2). I have also made note of this on the thread on mondegreens and other threads on errors, but still it persists: I even gave a link to Dougie himself on Youtube, singing same song, where the word is clearly enough
CONSCIENCE and not COAT-TAILS (the skating minister??)
See:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMpSg78s684
It comes up at 2.16. into the clip

Unfortunately, it has been there so long, that I have actually heard a young Scottish band sing "coat-tails" at which I do something between cringing and creasing up with laughter!
Dougie himself has also changed one line over the years he's been singing it: instead of "I have kissed the ladies, and left them crying" he now sings "I have tried, and kept on trying", (a bit more PC?)

I see the thread for corrections has been closed, so I hope the "harvester" will work!
So here it as, as he now sings it:

CALEDONIA
(Dougie MacLean)

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.

CHORUS
Oh, 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.
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 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 with conscience flying
Somewhere in the wind
CHORUS

Now I'm sitting here before the fire,
The empty room, the forest choir,
The flames that couldn't get any higher,
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 are shaken and the kisses flow
Then I will disappear.
CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Caledonia - Dougie Maclean - Correction
From: Ref
Date: 30 Aug 09 - 09:14 AM

I'd guess he changed the words so they'd make more sense when performed by Celtic Women, etc. It's now more of a cultural anthem and less of his personal statement. I hope he's raking in the royalties!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Caledonia - Dougie Maclean - Correcti
From: Genie
Date: 30 Aug 09 - 08:31 PM

Or maybe he changed the line because one sounds like a bit of an arrogant jerk when singing a line like "I've kissed the ladies and left them crying" (the assumption being, of course, that every lover you've left is heartbroken after you've gone). ; D
Anyway I do think the song has more 'universality' with that line changed, no matter the gender of the singer(s).

I hope he's raking in the royalties, too. It's a beautiful song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Caledonia - Dougie Maclean - Correction
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 30 Aug 09 - 08:42 PM

Maybe his wife protested too!
But my point was more about those flying coat-tails, let's get 'em off the DT!

Subject: DT Correction: Caledonia (Dougie Maclean)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 Jan 11 - 02:52 AM

Tattie, I posted your lyrics from this month into the first message of this thread, but I disagree with them. I hear "have travelled hard, sometimes with conscience flying" - are you sure you have it right?

Here are the lyrics from dougiemaclean.com - but note that performer Websites are often wrong, too. There are minor differences between the lyrics below and the Dougie MacLean recordings I have.

CALEDONIA


Music & Lyrics by Dougie MacLean. Published by Limetree Arts and Music

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

CHORUS
Ah but let me tell you that I love you and 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 kept on moving proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing found others on the way
I have tried and I've kept on trying stolen dreams, yes there's no denying*
I have travelled hard, sometimes with conscience flying somewhere in the wind
CHORUS

Now I'm sitting here before the fire, the empty room, the forest choir
The flames that couldn't get any higher 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 Oh I will disappear
CHORUS


  * Earlier lyric for this line was "I have kissed the ladies and left them crying"...Dougie changed the lyric for Frankie Miller when he released Caledonia as a single and feeling comfortable with the new lyric himself, carried on singing the new version!

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Mysha
Date: 31 Jan 11 - 11:12 AM

Him

Having that asterisk at the end of the line may confuse things a bit, but it's:

"I have kissed the ladies and left them crying"
became
"I have tried and I've kept on trying"


Celtic Woman sing
"I kissed the fellers and left them crying".
More popular with female singers seems to be the simpler substitution of:
"I kissed the lads and left them crying".
Several years ago, though, I heard what to me seems the best equivalent:
"I kissed the lads and left them sighing".


And while we're on that line:
Help a foreigner and explain what to steal a dream is?

                                                                Mysha

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: MMario
Date: 31 Jan 11 - 11:42 AM

I first heard this at a little ren-faire in NY a few years ago - and now hear it a couple times a year when I go to a session at "Run of the Mill" in Plymouth Mass.

It's a favourite of the Saturday nite crowd

Subject: Lyr Add: CALEDONIA (Dougie Maclean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 31 Jan 11 - 06:47 PM

Joe I have now looked at numerous Youtubes of Dougie HIMSELF singing the song: as is the artist's prerogative, he doesn't always sing it quite the same each time!
BUT it's DEFINTELY "CONSCIENCE" and not "coat-tails"!
He only sang "SOMEWHERE with conscience flying in one of the earlier versions, otherwise it's as I sent it.
In the earlier version it's "I've kissed the ladies and left them crying", and in the later ones "I have tried and kept on trying" - as others have said above,
So maybe....let's use the current version as sung by DmcL himself, and let the coat-tails fly off into outer space! (Whew, 12 years this has been on-going, I don't believe it - what happened to "we change things every 6 months"???!!)

CALEDONIA

Music & Lyrics by Dougie MacLean.

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

CHORUS
Ah but let me tell you that I love you and 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 kept on moving proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing, found others on the way,
I have tried and I've kept on trying stolen dreams, yes there's no denying,
I have travelled hard, with conscience flying somewhere in the wind
CHORUS

Now I'm sitting here before the fire, the empty room, the forest choir
The flames that couldn't get any higher 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 are shaken and the kisses flow, then I will disappear
CHORUS

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Cluin
Date: 01 Feb 11 - 01:54 AM

Or maybe he changed the line because some said it sounded like "Georgy Porgie"?

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Feb 11 - 02:12 AM

Tattie, I don't doubt that "coat-tails" is a Mondegreen. If you will look above, you will see that in both of the "corrected" transcriptions I posted, I put

I have travelled hard, sometimes with conscience flying somewhere in the wind

I got one transcription from a Dougie MacLean CD booklet, and the other from Dougie's Website - and then I compared them with a recording (although on the recording, I think he sings "somewhere with the wind).

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 11 Feb 11 - 07:51 PM

BUT AS I SAID ABOVE: if you care to take the time to watch Dougie himself sing it on the numerous Youtubes of his live performances, you will see that SOMETIMES he sings SOMETIMES, and SOMETIMES he doesn't!!!!! I don't hink it's crucial whether you have SOMETIMES in or not: both versions would seem to me to be equally correct.
The bit that ISN'T correct as John Hill posted here as long ago as 1999 is the coat-tails, and definitely needs changing.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 12 Feb 11 - 11:06 AM

"But if I should become a stranger you know that it would make me more than sad"

In performance that line scans better if you drop the word 'you' -
"But if I should become a stranger, know that it would make me more than sad"

That's the way I first heard the song, sung by Bill Crawford and Ed Vandendool under the name "Cravan Spirit" and still one of the sweetest renditions I've heard.

Bill & Ed used to operate the Caledonia Folk Club - not that Caledonia - this one is a small town on the Grand River in southern Ontario. It's also the first place I ever summoned up sufficient nerve to perform on stage. That's the Caledonia in my mind when I do the song. I tag it with "Caledonia, you're everything that I have".

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 12 Feb 11 - 05:14 PM

How does it scan any better if you drop the word "you" ?

I have sung this a million times and never had any problem with that line. I would actually find it quite awkward to drop the "you".

Listen to Dougie singing it, that,s the way it goes .

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 12 Feb 11 - 07:49 PM

That;s what I keep telling 'em Murray!

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Taconicus
Date: 13 Feb 11 - 11:01 AM

Yes, you reach the right eyes here, but we may not get to every thread every time, so it is safer to e-mail them to Dick at [e-mail]. New editions come out twice a year, so you won't see instant corrections.

I've been using the site for four years and that's the first time I ever saw that information. Perhaps it should be posted somewhere more prominent.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 13 Feb 11 - 02:01 PM

Murray, I think I can dig up an mp3 of the rendition I'm referring to. Send me your regular email address to and I'll try to send it.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Mysha
Date: 17 Mar 11 - 06:05 PM

Ah,

So, no dream stealers in the house?

Hm, "coattails flying". Sounds like a line a a Les Barker version might have.

                                                                  Mysha

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: breezy
Date: 18 Mar 11 - 06:00 AM

Mysha

re: 'stolen dreams', implies that one has pinched ideas from someone else

The line should possibly read thus , note the placing of commas

I have tried, and kept on trying.
{I have }Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying.

Lovely song, waiting to hear it sung at Scotland's rugby internationals.

Subject: RE: Correction: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 20 Mar 11 - 07:37 PM

It already is, Breezy, and has been for years! (Where've you been?)The guys in the "Famous Grouse" tent (great band called Kilter) do it regularly in the pre-match warm-ups and the Frankie Miller version was played inside the stadium on Saturday as our (at last) victorious team departed the pitch to the changing rooms.

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: meself
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 10:33 AM

To my understanding, the lines were originally: "Kissed the ladies, left them crying;/Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying" - which I take to mean that the "stolen dreams" had to do with all those poor heart-broken ladies who (sniff) woke up and found him gone, along with their dreams (of living with him happily after - now, of course, they have no dreams, they have no hope, they live their lives trapped in the memory of that one night of bliss after a few too many pints at the folk club). I don't wonder that at some point he might have decided to sing a new version ....

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: RunrigFan
Date: 24 Oct 11 - 09:50 PM

CALEDONIA
(Dougie MacLean)

As written in Plant life yearss

I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me,
In these last few day 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.

CHORUS
Oh, 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.
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 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 with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

CHORUS

Now I'm sitting here before the fire,
The empty room, the forest choir,
The flames that couldn't get any higher,
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 are shaking and the kisses flow
And I will disappear.
CHORUS

Craigie Dhu Version

I don't know if you can seet the changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid that I might drift away
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.

CHORUS
Let me tell you that I love you and 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.

Now 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 with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

CHORUS

Now I'm sitting here before the fire,
The empty room, the forest choir,
The flames that couldn't get any higher,
But 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 are shaking and the kisses flow
And I will disappear.
CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 27 Oct 11 - 07:11 PM

So we all seem to be agreed that it's "conscience" and not "coattails", so can we PLEASE change just that one word? (12 years on!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: GUEST,Maddie
Date: 29 Nov 11 - 01:50 PM

Any luck on getting the midi for this song?

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 29 Nov 11 - 08:08 PM

Suggest you just buy the record, Maddie!

Well it's 30th November here, St Andrew's Day, tho' maybe a few hours to go yet across the pond.
So ........please, just for a really special favour for St Andrew's Day........................................ can we have - "Coat-tails" out, "conscience" in?
Joe, Susan, anybody...........?
Ok I know I'm being boring but it's just so WRONG! (12 years and 3 and a half months and counting!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Aug 12 - 01:04 AM

I've done what I can, Tattie. It's in the hands of fate now. It's now 13 years and about two weeks. Please note that I posted and submitted corrected lyrics in 2003 - so it's not my fault, is it?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Mysha
Date: 30 Aug 12 - 05:55 AM

Hi,

I'm a bit slow, sometimes, but in this thread that's no problem, it seems. Still, I knew the lyrics like this:

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

Switching to "trying" seems to have made his conscience take permanent flight. Then again, I don't know whether the two changes were simultaneous. The version RunrigFan adds has the one difference but not the other.

Bye,
                                                                Mysha

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 04 Sep 12 - 02:48 PM

Hi Joe, if you can't change it the DT, who can? ASs you say, you posted lyrics ion 31st Jan 2011.

As has been said before, over the years, Dougie himself has changed from the "kissed the ladies" version to the "I have tried" version.

To me the main issue is the word "coat-tails" which is plainly wrong!

I heard Dougie himself sing it at Innerleithen Music Festival only a couple of weeks ago, and he did NOT sing that "sometimes" word that seems to be such a big issue with some folk including yourself. It makes little difference to the meaning of the song if "sometimes" is in or out, whereas using "coat-tails" instead of "conscience" makes a radical and ludicrous change.

Here's a fairly recent version - no "sometimes"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8A9rtg0iI
You'll note it comes from Butterstone Studios, i.e. Dougie's own studio!

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Nick
Date: 04 Sep 12 - 04:42 PM

Last time I saw him in Arran in the loo he did have quite a longish coat on.

The plot thins.

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Sep 12 - 05:17 PM

I still prefer coattails - which makes every bit as much sense, and fits well with "Now I have moved and I've kept on moving".

Often mondegreens make for better songs.

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Sep 12 - 02:38 AM

Hi, Tattie -

Dick Greenhaus is the editor/curator of the Digital Tradition. Susan of DT works with him.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Dec 12 - 04:38 PM

Well, last Sunday I sat next to a very accomplished Scottish singer at a song circle, and he sang "Caledonia" "with coattails flying." He was singing from handwritten notes that looked very old. If he got his lyrics from the Digital Tradition, one would think he would have printed the lyrics instead of writing them by hand.
So, I wonder how far this "coattails" heresy has spread.

I listened to the Dougie MacLean recording just now, and it's definitely "with conscience flying."

And no, Tattie, the lyrics have not been changed in the Digital Tradition yet....

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 13 Dec 12 - 07:43 PM

Thanks Joe, Maybe because I haven't yet contacted either Dick or Susan. I meant to, but was on first day of a Festival I was organising when you posted on 5th September. So I'll do it - soon!

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Dec 12 - 09:59 PM

It has been reported to Dick and Susan and recorded by them, Tattie. It's just that a new edition of the Digital Tradition hasn't come out recently.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 14 Dec 12 - 06:45 AM

Thanks Joe, I was just about to email Dick, so no need now!

Subject: Lyr Add: CALEDONIA (Dougie MacLean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 20 Jun 14 - 09:05 AM

Have had the pleasure of seeing Dougie in concert last weekend: a really good night. he sang Caledonia as his encore "or risk being lynched"!
He now has a re-vamped website with lyrics of a lot of his songs on it.
So here is his (definitive) version of how he sings it now (the "kissed the ladies" line is out! see note at the bottom, also copied from the web page)


Music and Lyrics by Dougie MacLean
Published by Limetree Arts and Music (MCPS and PRS UK)

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 come from
That's the reason why I seem so far away today

CHORUS
Let me tell you that I love you and 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 tried and I've kept on trying, stolen dreams, yes there's no denying*
I have traveled hard sometimes with conscience flying somewhere in the wind

CHORUS

Now I'm sitting here before the fire, the empty room the forest choir
The flames that couldn't get any higher 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 then I will disappear

CHORUS

*Earlier lyric for this line was "I have kissed the ladies and left them crying"...Dougie changed the lyric for Frankie Miller when he released Caledonia as a single and, feeling comfortable with the new lyric himself, carried on singing the new version which he prefers!

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 20 Jun 14 - 09:09 AM

Oops, I see that Joe put this up in 2011! "Read the thread, Trish!"
"Hands have shaken"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: meself
Date: 20 Jun 14 - 11:37 AM

'"Hands have shaken"?'

Before the sun was over the yardarm ....

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: GUEST,Dave Lewis
Date: 06 Nov 14 - 06:02 PM

Pretty nice version here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT8n_125tTA

Subject: RE: Lyr Correction: Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
From: RunrigFan
Date: 14 Feb 21 - 09:54 PM

I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me,
In these last few day 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.

CHORUS
Oh, 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.
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 have moved and I've kept on moving,
I proved the points that I needed proving,
Lost the friends that I needed losing,
Found others on the way,
I have kissed the lady, I kept on trying
Stolen dreams, yes there's no denying,
I have travelled hard with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

CHORUS

Now I'm sitting here before the fire,
The empty room, the forest choir,
The flames that couldn't get any higher,
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 are shaking and the kisses flow
And I will disappear.

youtube.com/watch?v=DEB4HCWcwbw