One of my very favorite songwriters is the Scottish folksinger Dougie MacLean; this isn’t his best-known song by any means (that would be “Caledonia”), but I think it’s the one I like best. This particular version benefits from the wonderful Kathy Mattea on backup vocals—they’re friends, and it was recorded during a joint studio session. (I’d wanted to post another video from the same session as well, of Mattea singing lead on Dougie’s song “Ready for the Storm,” but embedding is disabled on that one.)Turning Away
In darkness we do what we can;
In daylight we’re oblivion.
Our hears so raw and clear
Are turning away, turning away from here.On the water we have walked
Like the fearless child;
What was fastened we’ve unlocked,
Revealing wondrous wild.
And in search of confirmation,
We have jumped into the fire
And scrambled with our burning feet
Through uncontrolled desire.ChorusThere’s a well upon the hill
From our ancient past,
Where an age is standing still,
Holding strong and fast.
And there’s those that try to tame it,
And to carve it into stone—
Ah, but words cannot extinguish it,
However hard they’re thrown.ChorusOn Loch Etive they have worked
With their highland dreams;
By Kilcrennan they have nourished
In the mountain streams.
And in searching for acceptance
They had given it away;
Only the children of their children
Know the price they had to pay.ChorusWords and music: Dougie MacLean
© 1991 Dunkeld Records
From the album Indigenous, by Dougie MacLean