Early musical memories

Musical memories

Music is very dear to me. My father sang Scottish songs to me while I sat gurgling on his knee when I was just a wee baby.

I remember one of the songs was called ‘Roaming in the gloaming’, which means ‘wandering at sunset’.

Here are the words, courtesy of that wonderful 20th Century innovation, the Internet.


I love a lassie,
A bonnie, bonnie lassie,
She's as sweet as the heather in the dell,
She's as sweet as the heather,
The bonnie bloomin' heather,
Mary, my Scotch Bluebell.

Well, I love a lassie,
A bonnie, bonnie lassie,
She's as sweet as the heather in the dell,
She's as sweet as the heather,
The bonnie bloomin' heather,
Mary, my Scotch Bluebell.

So, I love a lassie,
A punk rock lassie,
She's as sweet as the heather in the dell,
She's as sweet as the heather,
The bonnie bloomin' heather,
Mary, my Scotch Bluebell.

Mary, my Scotch Bluebell ....

I roaming in the gloaming,
with a Bonnie near the Clyde.
Roaming in the gloaming,
with a lassie by my side.
‘Tis when the sun goes down,
that's the time that I like best.
Oh yeah, I'm roaming in the gloaming.

Roaming in the gloaming,
with a Bonnie near the Clyde.
Roaming in the gloaming,
with a lassie by my side.
‘Tis when the sun goes down,
that's the time that I like best.
Oh yeah, I'm roaming in the gloaming.

How lovely, 59 years later, my father sadly no longer with us, that I wander on the bonnie (beautiful) banks of the River Clyde every summer with my own bonnie lassie (beautiful girl) my wife.

What are your lasting memories brought on by listening to a piece of music. By the way, I can still sing that song my father sang to me!

I suppose the next piece of music that means something to me, although I was surely too young to remember it as I heard it only once was the ceremonial music by Handel, ‘Zadok the priest’, which was played as the young Princess Elizabeth was crowned Elizabeth The Second in Westminster Abbey in London. Not having a TV at the time, we went to watch it at my grandparents’ house at 1, Winterford Road in the little town of Mossley.

I missed the first Queen Elizabeth by about 400 years, but I do recall our present queen's coronation. I was three years old at the time.
Robert L. Fielding

Sea Pictures

Janet Baker singing 'Swimmers' from Elgar's 'Sea Pictures'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eh9d01u62k