Story Behind The Song
One of the aspects not alluded to a great deal is the relationship and mutual history of Scottish settlers and Indians tribes in the early eighteenth and nineteenth century. W had read the novel, The Big Sky, and was looking around for a song hook - he found it whilst looking at the connections and intermarrying between the Cree nation and some members of the MacDonald clan. So to create atmosphere start with an animal howling, then introduce a native instrument, reflect the scottishness with the bagpipe, talk about shared values, give some reference to great spirits and warriors, think up a mutually resonant hook and bingo, a song about the clans and the tribes.
| Song Length |
6:18 |
Genre |
Folk - Rock, Folk - Rock |
| Tempo |
Medium (111 - 130) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Welcoming, Nonviolent |
Subject |
Equality, Race/Ethnicity |
| Similar Artists |
James Taylor, The Eagles |
Language |
English |
| Era |
1970 - 1979 |
| |
Lyrics
UNDER THE SUN ( When the pipers met the braves ) ( W L COTTERELL 2013 )
We were hard working traders out there looking for furs
Our wagon had lost a wheel and we had stopped to repair
The whiskey flowed like water and the pipes began to play
The travelling was over for the day.
We didn't see you coming, we didn't hear a sound
But now we sit at your campfire our feet and hands are bound
I notice that your hair has a strange orange hue
It's just the same as me, I'm just the same as you.
Chorus
Your tribe has a makeup just like my clan
You work hard each day to be a better man
I play the bagpipes and you hunt down deer with a gun
And we're just same under the sun.
My name is Macdonald and I am trader's son
I come from a far off place where the stags freely run
And though you may be taking me to the brink
We clearly are closer than you think
My mother was Cree born and I know about your ways
You and I are related until the end of days
The great warrior that rides across the sky
Is just the same to me through my eyes
Chorus
Your tribe has a makeup just like my clan
You work hard each day to be a better man
I play the bagpipes and you hunt down deer with a gun
And we're just same under the sun.
Middle
Shall we count the ways that make us brothers under the skin
Count the days 'til we can live as true born kin,
To ride where the stallions run across the plain
Accept the differences but celebrate what is the same
Let us bury this conflict that sits in our hearts
Let us bring together peace and hope from the start
For you and me the past is never far away
But let us start ouR future from today