When I was a young teen, my parents dragged me all over California for the Scottish Highland Games. My sisters danced & I played a marching snare. I’m not gonna lie - I loathed it. It was hot, very hot, and I was not into wearing a kilt. It wasn’t much of a chick magnet. In all honesty, it probably didn’t matter what I wore when I was 12, I wasn’t impressing many chicks…

Anyway, there was this guy who was at all the games, his name was Alex Beaton. And I can still hear his voice and his acoustic guitar. He has some very funny songs, some beautiful ballads, and some very sad songs. He’s a true folk singer and the history he preserves is pretty incredible. It’s amazing to thing how much history is passed down through song. Well, here’s a master storyteller, and another Clan MacLean.

This one’s my favorite, The Scottsman. Here’s a line from the song, …they lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see, and there behold for them to view beneath his Scottish skirt, was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth.

Bonnie Dundee. Read more about it here. About 1:38 into the song is a typical Scotsman moment: “I was brought up on that stuff, I was told it was apple juice”.

Massacre of Glencoe. This is one of the sad ones, read more about the story here.

Can’t wait till my mom sees this post. I’m sure she’ll have a comment or two, as well as dad.