3 Feb 2009

Caledonian Trilogy - from Willie Wallace to Barack Obama. With a helping hand from Elvis and Rabbie!

Posted by Alan Smart at 01:00
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2 comments:

Anonymous,  Wednesday, February 04, 2009  

Very nice. However, you may want to reconsider the use of "Dixie" in the sound track. That song was somewhat of an anthem for segregationists in the U.S. - especially in the South - in the 1960s. Just saying.

Alan Smart,  Wednesday, February 11, 2009  

Bob
I deliberately used Dixie - well aware of the association

But Dixie is a traditional Scots-American - Creol southern tune which predates the civil war and the post war racist connotations of the song.

And a great tune. It's time to claim it back. Indeed excatly what Elvis started to do when he first recorded "American Trilogy" in 1971 ( pretty brave at the time for a southern white boy!)

"Dixie", the song of the south , "All My Trials" a tradional afro-american lullaby Elvis grw up singing, and "The Battle Hynm of the Republic", the song of the north - no, the song of a united America.

And the Battle Hymn of the republic ultimately wins. As it does I think clearly in my Caledonian remake.

And on a footnote I am from Pailsey, born there - our Dixieland. In the mid 19th century the biggest cotton processing centre in the world ( home of the famous Paisley Pattern cotton shawls). And our town wealth (and it was wealthy for all the associated poverty)- was built on african blood, slave blood

This film does not try to hide this - see the black cotton picking hands at the start. But it does show our town's other side too , its better side - Wallace, Withertspoon John Wilson the famous Paisley born ornathgologist of north america. And how their idealism and values triumphed over slavey and bigotry.

Helped elect Obama indeed. Without even knowing
And why should the devil have all the best tunes? - especially when he stole it from good folks

a# the best
alan

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