Music and the Fictive Dream
THE SKYE BOAT SONG
Bear McCreary is one of the most famous film music composers. From films like Star Wars to the Walking Dead. McCreary graduated from USC (Thornton School of Music), which is a prestigious music school. He was a protege of the late Elmer Bernstein. I have never heard of Bear McCreary until I saw the new Outlander show.
I've finally decided I want to watch the new Outlander Series on Starz after reading the book Series by Diana Gabaldon. I found that I enjoy the show even more so the intro music. I wasn't expecting the intro music to be what it was. In the book it does mention the "Skye Boat Song," but hearing it was something else, I loved it. It is a work by Bear McCreary and its meant to foreshadow the show. One of the main Protagonists is of Scottish descent, and it hints this by playing Bagpipes in the background of the intro song. Without actually listening to the lyrics, it does sound like Irish/Scottish or Celtic Folk music. The song also brought out wonderment and showed enchantment that is what the series is based on.
The History of the "Skye Boat Song," is a story of a Jacobite, who was a great pretender in his defeat during the battle of Culloden. The Barin who escaped abandoned his troops instead of fighting and dying with them. Instead, he dressed as a maid and changed his name to Betty Burke; he traveled with Flora Mcdonald who was a Jacobite sympathizer. They went from Uist to the Isle of Skye. The original version of the song changed in 1896 by Robert Louis Stevenson whose version of the song caught on. The first verse goes "Sing me a song of a lad that is gone, say could that Lad be I?," the song is a lullaby and is also a memorial song for all those Scotts who died in Culloden. I added a Video by Penny Dale who sings the original Robert Louis Stevenson version.
In the new Bear McCreary version of the song, the beginning verse is "Sing me a song of a lass that is gone, Say could that Lass be I?." The original version of the song is about a lad, in the Bear McCreary version it is about a Lass. After watching the show itself and hearing the new introduction song, it's clear to see why it got chosen. A sense that women were not individuals after being married. The show is based on a time where women did not have their own identities without their husbands and would strip their old life and desires away. The lyrics of the song speak volumes on this subject.
TreasuryIslands. “Origins: The Skye Boat Song.” TreasuryIslands, 25 Sept. 2012, treasuryislands.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/origins-the-skye-boat-song/. The Origin of the Skye Boat Song
“Bear McCreary.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm0566970/. The Short Biography of Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary is one of the most famous film music composers. From films like Star Wars to the Walking Dead. McCreary graduated from USC (Thornton School of Music), which is a prestigious music school. He was a protege of the late Elmer Bernstein. I have never heard of Bear McCreary until I saw the new Outlander show.
I've finally decided I want to watch the new Outlander Series on Starz after reading the book Series by Diana Gabaldon. I found that I enjoy the show even more so the intro music. I wasn't expecting the intro music to be what it was. In the book it does mention the "Skye Boat Song," but hearing it was something else, I loved it. It is a work by Bear McCreary and its meant to foreshadow the show. One of the main Protagonists is of Scottish descent, and it hints this by playing Bagpipes in the background of the intro song. Without actually listening to the lyrics, it does sound like Irish/Scottish or Celtic Folk music. The song also brought out wonderment and showed enchantment that is what the series is based on.
The History of the "Skye Boat Song," is a story of a Jacobite, who was a great pretender in his defeat during the battle of Culloden. The Barin who escaped abandoned his troops instead of fighting and dying with them. Instead, he dressed as a maid and changed his name to Betty Burke; he traveled with Flora Mcdonald who was a Jacobite sympathizer. They went from Uist to the Isle of Skye. The original version of the song changed in 1896 by Robert Louis Stevenson whose version of the song caught on. The first verse goes "Sing me a song of a lad that is gone, say could that Lad be I?," the song is a lullaby and is also a memorial song for all those Scotts who died in Culloden. I added a Video by Penny Dale who sings the original Robert Louis Stevenson version.
In the new Bear McCreary version of the song, the beginning verse is "Sing me a song of a lass that is gone, Say could that Lass be I?." The original version of the song is about a lad, in the Bear McCreary version it is about a Lass. After watching the show itself and hearing the new introduction song, it's clear to see why it got chosen. A sense that women were not individuals after being married. The show is based on a time where women did not have their own identities without their husbands and would strip their old life and desires away. The lyrics of the song speak volumes on this subject.
TreasuryIslands. “Origins: The Skye Boat Song.” TreasuryIslands, 25 Sept. 2012, treasuryislands.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/origins-the-skye-boat-song/. The Origin of the Skye Boat Song
“Bear McCreary.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm0566970/. The Short Biography of Bear McCreary
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