Folklore: Donald Macgillavry

Subject: Folklore: Donald Macgillavry
From: GUEST,Somerled
Date: 10 May 06 - 12:38 PM

Have been learning to play a lot of Andy Stewarts songs, and came across this one, Donald Macgillavry. which is a great song, I have been trying though to find out what the song is about? Anything I have looked up so far on the internet has a lot of info about Donald Macgillavry but nothing that has anything to do with what Andy Stewart is singing about. Any info on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
               Thank You

Subject: RE: Folklore: Donald Macgillavry
From: Big Tim
Date: 10 May 06 - 02:52 PM

He's singing about one of the Jacobite rebellions, either 1715 or 1745. As present research stands, it seems impossible to say which.
Donald was either a specific individual or a generic Jacobite heroic symbol. Again, as far as I can ascertain, nobody knows which.

Personally, for what it's worth, prob not a lot, I doubt that James Hogg actually wrote it (controversial statement). I will believe, until I see convincing contrary evidence, that Hogg belatedly claimed to have written it when he realised how popular it was.

I presume you are talking about Andy M. Stewart, not Andy Stewart. Ewan MacColl recorded the song in 1962, and he almost certainly got it from Hogg's "Jacobite Relics", as he repeated a mistake that Hogg had made re the ancestral home of the MacGillivary clan.

Coincidentally, there was another Thread about the song only a week or so ago in which quite a lot of background was posted.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Donald Macgillavry
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 10 May 06 - 06:23 PM

Somerled, if you put either 'McGillavry' or 'McGillivray' into the search box in the top right hand corner, both yield good results, though not identical ones. Then read on ...

Subject: RE: Folklore: Donald Macgillavry
From: Declan
Date: 11 May 06 - 02:10 PM

There's a version of this song on an album by a Scottish supergroup called the "Unusual Suspects" who I heard for the first time at the Cambridge Folk Festival last year.

The band has members from several well known Scottish traditional bands such as Blazing Fiddles, Deaf Shepherd etc as well as a number of other scottish traditional musicians and singers, and is augmented by a set of bagpipers and a brass section. It might not sound like everybody's cup of tea, but don't knock it until you hear it. I was and remain very impressed.