Caledonia (song)

Caledonia (song)

:"For other songs known as "Caledonia", see "Jamie Raeburn", "Canada-I-O" and "Amy MacDonald".":"For the jump blues song, see "Caldonia"

"Caledonia" (also known as "Jean and Caledonia") (Roud # 3801) is a Scottish folk ballad.

It first appeared in the song-book "Pocket Songster or Caledonian Warbler" in 1823. "Sair, sair was my heart, an' the tears stood in my een/As I viewed my native hills an' I thought upon my Jean." Pressed by poverty, the two sadly part; he promises to be true, and wed no other, and someday to come back to marry her.

"Caledonia" is also the name of a modern Scottish folk ballad, written by Dougie MacLean somewhere between 1974 and 1977 [http://www.w-fm.com/profiles/dougie_maclean.cfm] and published in 1979 on an album of the same name [http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1021&id=1145252003] . It has the lyrics "Caledonia, you're calling me, and now I'm going home". MacLean plays the song in the key of E using Open C tuning with a capo on the 4th fret, as can be seen in video recordings [http://youtube.com/watch?v=KMpSg78s684] . This version has been covered by artists including Frankie Miller and Fish. It is included in the 2007 album release by Celtic Woman, , sung by Lisa Kelly.
The song is also covered by the Scottish singer/songwriter Paolo Nutini on a special version of his album These Streets. The cover on this album is a live recording. Another cover was included as a hidden track on singer/songwriter Amy Macdonald's album 'This is the life'

Lyrics

1)I don't know if you can see the changes that have come over me. In these last few days, I've been afraid that I might drift away. I've been telling old stories, singing songs that make me think about where I've come from. And that's the reason why I seem so far away today.

CHORUS
Oh, let me tell you that I love you. That I think about you all the time. Caledonia, you're calling me and now I'm going home. And if I should become a stranger, you know it would make me more than sad. Caledonia's been everything I've ever had.

2)
Now I have moved and I've kept on moving. Proved the points that I needed proving. I've lost the friends that I needed losing. Found others on the way. I have kissed the ladies and left them crying. Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying. I've travelled hard, sometimes with coattails flying, somewhere in the wind.

CHORUS

3)
Now I'm sitting here before the fire. The empty room and the forest choir. The flames that could not get any higher. They've withered, now they've gone. But I'm steady thinking, my way is clear. And I know what I will do tomorrow. Whan the hands have shaken and the kisses flow, then I will disappear.

CHORUS

Cross references

* Compare with "Erin's Flowery Vale" also known as "The Irish Girl's Lament" or "Dobbin's Flowey Vale" (Roud 999, Laws O29) (plot) and references there

References

# Robert Ford, "Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland" (one-volume edition, 1904), pp. 237-239, "Jean and Caledonia" (1 text, 1 tune)
# John Ord, "Bothy Songs and Ballads" (1930; Reprint edition with introduction by Alexander Fenton printed 1995), p. 116, "Jean and Caledonia" (1 text)
# Roud Folk Song Index #3801


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