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blogging101, Creative Writing, Journaling, Music, Outlander, Saturday Sing-a-long, Song Lyrics, Video Clips, Writing 101
Opening Theme from Outlander: Skye Boat Song
This edition of Saturday Sing-a-long is dedicated to Sir Lord Drollery, better known as his lordship around here. He has become an Outlander fanatic and is in love with the theme song. It’s an old Scottish song, Skye Boat Song, which refers to the Isle of Skye in Scotland.
Skye or the Isle of Skye (/skaɪ/; Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or Eilean a’ Cheò) is the largest and most northerly large island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island’s peninsulas radiate from a mountainous center dominated by the
Cuillins, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
In case you’re not familiar with Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, here’s a short plot summary:
This is the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate relationship is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. (Written by Starz)
The version of the song used in the Outlander theme is actually based on a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, which has been sung to the original tune, and has the following text: (the parts in green are used in the theme song…)
[Chorus:] Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.
Mull was astern, Rùm on the port,
Eigg on the starboard bow;
Glory of youth glowed in his soul;
Where is that glory now?
[Chorus]
Give me again all that was there,
Give me the sun that shone!
Give me the eyes, give me the soul,
Give me the lad that’s gone!
[Chorus]
Billow and breeze, islands and seas,
Mountains of rain and sun,
All that was good, all that was fair,
All that was me is gone.
This video is from the opening credits for the Starz TV series. So here it is, your lordship. Just for you!
Impromptu Promptlings 
We love the Skye Boat Song! The version we know well is by Alistair McDonald, one of Scotland’s best-known folk singers.
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Are you familiar with Steve McDonald? I love “Fallen Flowers” from his album Stone of Destiny.
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I haven’t seen the series yet. Is it based on a book? It sounds like it’s worth a try.
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Yes. It’s based on Diana Gabaldon’s book Outlander. She has a whole series. There’s llke six or seven of them plus one she called The Outlandish Companion that’s a reference book to them all. I expect next season’s story will be based on book 2, Dragonfly in Amber. I ADORED Outlander. Have read it three times. But I’ve struggled to get through 2. When a debut novel is as good as Outlander was sometimes I think there’s no way to go but down. She really did her research.
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Hi Calen,
I LOVE Highlander (still have half to watch, so I’m not reading everything you’ve written) and the Skye Boat Song is such a favourite from my childhood. I adore the haunting melody and words, even if I’m not good a singing, I still try to sing along.
Clare
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OMG – Outlander 🙂 silly me.
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Heck that’s ok. I wouldn’t have known that’s not what you meant. I love Outlander AND Highlander!
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Ok you’ve got me there. I love both of them, but Outlander takes the cake, so much so, I bought Diana Gabaldon’s books to read the entire story.
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I think you’ll love it. I practically swallowed it whole. I gotta finish Dragonfly in Amber before the next season begins. Let me know how you like it.
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Will do 🙂
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It looks to be a very interesting series! I just checked Netflix and there’s two discs in the series so far, with 8 episodes in all. Is it still currently running?
I’m fairly sure Q would enjoy this, being part Scottish.”
I like the song quite a lot. What fun, Saturday Sing-a-long! I getting new songs for my playlist!
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The season finale was last Saturday night. Actually there were only like 16 episodes of the whole thing and they split the dvds up and call it two seasons so they could make more money. But they both cover the whole first book. Next season (fall) will be based on the second book Dragonfly in Amber. I literally absorbed Outlander. Still haven’t gotten through Dragonfly despite two tries.
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It’s too bad you don’t have Netflix (or do you?) because you could rent. But when we want a series to keep, we do the streaming from Amazon, and while they split the first season into two discs, it would come as one in streaming. Roku isn’t the only way to actually view amazon. There’s several devices, if you have any of them. Just hook up to your tv and log in with your computer, and voila.
Is the second book more difficult to read? or less interesting?
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Less interesting to me. It takes place in France. I don’t particularly like the way she wrote it. And yet she sure got her mileage out of the series. I think there are seven books. And so much information in them that she had to write a roundup book called The Outlandish Companion.
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His Lordship is a romantic. 🙂
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Only rarely! LOL I think he thinks the gal that plays Claire is HOT. 🙂 That’s okay, I think Jamie is a HOT dude, too! 😀
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The music is hauntingly romantic about the lost self
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Oh dude… How I wish I was more in tune with the place you are at. It’s as if my eyes just can’t see where you are looking… Just a matter of practice? Or a matter of pain and THEN paying attention?
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