Hector the Hero - North Sea Gas
Вставка
- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- This video is for my fellow Scottish folk music lovers, who wanted to hear it. Hector MacDonald was a legendary Scottish battle hero, who met an unfortunate end. Fortunately, the song - admirably sung by the renowned Scottish folk music group North Sea Gas - does not contain all the gory details.
I have had a request for the lyrics - so here they are:
Lyrics for Hector the Hero by North Sea Gas
O´wail for the mighty and battle
loud lift ye the coronach strain
for Hector the Hero of deathless fame
will never come back again
Lament him, ye mountains of Ross-Shire
your tears be the dew and the rain
ye forests and straths, let the sobbing winds
unburden your grief and pain
Lament him ye warm hearted clansmen
and mourn for a kinsman so true
the pride of the highlands the valiant MacDonald
will never come bach to you
Lament him ye sons of old Scotia
Ye kinsman on many a shore
a patriot warrior fearless of foe
has fallen to rise no more
has fallen to rise no more
O´wail for the mighty and battle
loud lift ye the coronach strain
for Hector the Hero of deathless fame
will never come back again
O cherish his triumph and glory
on Omdurman´s death stricken plain
his glance like the eagle his heart like the lion
his laurels a nation´s gain
Chorus
O rest thee brave heart in thy slumber
forgotten shall ne'er be thy name
the love and the mercy of heaven be thine
our love thou must ever claim
to us thou art Hector the hero
the chivalrous dauntless and true
the hills and the glens and the hearts of a nation
Re-echo the wail for you
Lament him ye sons of old Scotia
Ye kinsman on many a shore
a patriot warrior fearless of foe
has fallen to rise no more
has fallen to rise no more
Lament him ye sons of old Scotia
Ye kinsman on many a shore
a patriot warrior fearless of foe
has fallen to rise no more
has fallen to rise no more
O´wail for the mighty and battle
loud lift ye the coronach strain
for Hector the Hero of deathless fame
will never come back again
Sir Hector ,…,,,no more words I need….Fighting Mac….from private to Major General,,,and Knightneed
Man these guys are awesome this song gives me chills
I read his awe-inspiring biography many years ago given to me by the late Sgt. James Macintoch (ex Black Watch and 51st Highland Division, and WWII vet) of Dunblane and recommended to me by my old friend the late Steven MacDonald also of Dunblane. (MacDonald is by far the most common name in Dunblane).
Up until now, I knew this only as a fiddle tune. What a find!
Dunblane is murray country. Macdonalds are in western isles & the western highlands
My Grandfather fought under MacDonalds command during the South Africa campaigns..
Hi, I'm a relative of Hector MacDonald, I would love to know more about him
I'm a relative of Hector MacDonald too :)
Então seu avô lutou por colonialistas
This must be the BEST version of this fine tune ,,,,,,,lovely to hear it sung so well as we all know the tune is played all over the world ,,,,,,,,,the words are very stirring ,,,,well done lads
One of my favorite tunes and songs. I play it often on the pipes, even at my dads funeral. Played a lot slower though. Thanks for posting.
And much prefer it at slower pace!
Exactly Trish. It is a lovely lament.
Actually written as a lament, slower pace is better. Looking at his life, a ballad is anyway fitting. Faster pace for a ballad, as it is here. According to me, at least...
Was just thinking I'd love this at my funeral
Great ballad...Lovely harmony..
Major General Sir Hector Archibald MacDonald, (Fighting Mac)
I Love your Channel. Thank you !!!
Natalie Mac Masters plays a beautiful rendison of this Scottish classic air. Hector the Hero by J Scott Skinner a lament at his funeral many years ago
Such a great tune! Beautiful!
wow! amazing music!
Beautiful.
Absolutely marvelous rendition of this great song!
One of my favorites as well
Beautiful ballad! Sad...the reason that he died though.
Slanted by the Victorian rich
Too bad I can't put 100 thumbs up.
BRAW
What's the strathspey (or air, or whatever it is) that they play at the end? I know I've heard it before.
It’s Hector the Hero! That’s a popular fiddle tune but most don’t know it actually has lyrics. You don’t necessarily connect the two because of the different timing NSG uses for the vocal part. If I ever get around to putting my physical CD collection in order, I’ll tell you who wrote the lyrics.
@@Arkybark Thanks, Dede!
Oo
P
BYDAND
A sad story. Hector Macdonald committed suicide because of accusations of homosexuality.
Well, yeah. But also his alleged sexual partners (and these allegations were never proven) were teenage boys. The scandal wasn't just that he was homosexual, but also that he was a paedophile. Again though, these accusations were not proven and the evidence ("I saw him leave a train carriage once with four boys!") was not enough to prove anything.
I think it was false to be honest I think it was the upper class didn't like it that a crofters son was doing better than them
A great song, but it's a pity the song doesn't detail what happened to him and why. Basically, this soldier from a crofting background committed suicide after it came out that he was gay. This was a time when being homosexual was a crime.
Indeed, but have you ever heard a folk song that alluded to homosexuality? Maybe one or two cryptically, but I don't know of any. The Wikipedia article, where the photos came from (there were no others to be found), does go into it in a bit of detail. I thought NSG had mentioned it in the album blurb, but just checked, and they didn't.
@@Arkybark There is the misconception that there are no LGBT+ songs in the folk tradition, but as a gay man who loves folk music I can confirm that isn't true. I actually researched the subject for an article I wrote for the Highlands LGBT+ magazine UnDividingLines three years, a magazine which I now edit. The problem is that some of the queer tradition in folk song has been (perhaps deliberately) misinterpreted or hidden. And in some cases (particularly with Broadside Ballads) has not been accepted as part of the canon. There is a whole genre of folk song that feature homosexual and transgender features. Among the most famous are "The Handsome Cabin Boy" and "The Soldier Maid". Some commentators (such as A. L. Lloyd) have suggested these songs are merely the fantasies of male sailors, but sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one, particularly as sodomy was such a feature of a sailor's life in the 17th to 19th centuries that the authorities tried to stamp it out (unsuccessfully, of course). Both of these songs refer to cross dressing or "passing" (passing is a term that used to be used to refer to men who lived as women and women who lived as men) and refer to both straight and gay sex, with "The Handsome Cabin Boy" also featuring the "boy" getting pregnant. The song suggests that the captain fancied the "boy" because he thought he was male, but when discovering he was she, was just as happy (so bisexuality is also a feature of the song). The song ends with the sailors toasting "The Handsome Cabin Boy" and hoping another one is on their next voyage (a clear reference to sodomy). Also, during the 17th and 18th centuries, what we would now call gay men met in what were called Molly Houses (perhaps an equivalent of gay clubs and pubs) where they would behave in ways that were illegal. We know they sang Molly songs, but few of these have survived, partly because of the poor sensitive sensibilities of collectors and partly because so many of the Mollies were hanged for sodomy and probably kept their songs well hidden and mainly oral so as not to incriminate themselves and others. Nonetheless, some fragments remain, including one called "Come Let Us Bugger Finely", which as well as being about the pleasures of same sex activity also compares the threat that Mollies face to that faced by Jews because of anti-Semitism. Also, some 17th and 18th century collectors of Broadside Ballads were less sensitive souls than many 19th and 20th century collectors, and the collections of people such as Samuel Pepys reveal so many queer songs, ones that sadly aren't sung these days but are available in libraries in various places. There are songs on the joys of sodomy, of the need to hide one's behaviour, on cross-dressing and on passing, including a great song called "The Female Husband". Finally, we have sea shanties, some of which refer to sex between sailors. The phrase "rock and roll me over" occurs in several sea shanties. The phrase "rock and roll" was a common term for sex among African Americans (and is the origin of the name of the musical form). But long before it was used in America, it was used by sailors to refer to sex between sailors. It is entirely possible that African Americans took the phrase from Scottish and English sailors on slave ships. I could go on, but this is surely sufficient to show that queer issues - whether relating to sexual activity or gender identity - have long been present in traditional folk music. It's just a pity this has been hidden for so long.
Accused falsely of Homosexuality by all accounts, due to jealousy of the upper classes. still held in the highest regard in the North/North East of Scotland
Wonderful song though Hector loved the very wrong way!
Sad end to a fighting soldier, rose through the ranks, almost impossible in Victorian Britain. There was a legend at the time which stated he hadn't died bur re-emerged as the WW1 German Field Marshall von Mackensen! (he of the big hat)
There's no proof of your lame comment
I don't think it was a lame comment.....but the accusation was never proved...
indeed sir.....!!! betrayed by King...The British Army...and the Class system....@@allanfeltham4167
He was unjustly destroyed by those who believed he "loved the very wrong way". Fortunately, his friend J. Skinner, and all of Scotland, loved him even though he "loved the very wrong way". Someday, everyone will realize that there is no wrong way to love.