The Proclaimers - Throw The 'R' Away

[Deadbeatherosuk]

Scottish punk band here, thinking about covering this masterpeice.

[cherrystars99]

wow great song btw in my music lesson at school we listend to this song cause are project is scotland!!

[Forbzyful]

I feel the pain in this song, I have the same accent as these guys and my English and Irish friends (of which I have many) sometimes laugh at me me when I pronounce certain words and it is literally for the reasons in the song; my vowels are really heavy and I almost sounds like I put emphasis on my R's.

I'm still proud of it though ;-)

[Deadbeatherosuk]

@Forbzyful Just all part of being Scottish man. Never gonna flatten my vowels, and through my R's away.

[gallifreyangirl99]

i nearly punched a guy the other day because he followed me around all day asking me where in England i was born. it isnt my fault i don't have an epic Scottish accent! my mum is welsh! and i use a lot of polysyllabic words. like polysyllabic.

[sternbergzookie]

@gallifreyangirl99 But judging by your username you seem to be Gallifreyan. Tell that to people when they ask you where you're from. And when they ask where Gallifrey is, you can tell them: "Ireland." Or you can say, solemnly: "It burned."

And Welsh is AWESOME.

[PureZOOKS]

A very underrated song. I mean, just playing that intro makes you instantly sexy as f*ck.

[1twilight9]

haha!! fantastic.

[mrdundee81]

7 people need a fu----g slap!!!!!!!

[jessirocksocks]

They are just so great! I have no words...

[mrdundee81]

just pure class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gig1965]

2 voices, 1 guitar and a hand clap! FANTASTIC!!!

[mrdundee81]

@gig1965 well said mate!!!!!

[sciencebabe]

LOVE this! A long time fan but hadn't listened to in awhile. Suddenly it occured to me to look them up here. Lot's of videos and I see one new-to-me song here on YT. Oh boy! :)

[dkfelix]

The Poclaimes - Thow The ' ' Away

[Dravenswraith]

These guys deserved and still do to be widely known so talented

[damnucartman]

thumbs up if u thought that they were brothers



[knarisa]

@damnucartman they are brothers...twins actually :)

[rb1a1ba]

Even thought it's a brilliant song, I wish they'd never done I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) ... sure, they'd have less fans, but people would at least realise that they're a genuinely brilliant duo, and not a one hit wonder novelty act.

[parrotheadwon]

@rb1a1ba sorry but without I'm gonna be i would have not learned about and found these guys to be so brilliant. so thank God for Im gonna be(500 miles).

[johnboykfc]

FREEEEEEEEDOM!

[Brok3nC4rrot]

Six people have flat vowels and no R

[FlashStar74]

This is stored in my favourites. I reckon I've listened to it over a thousand times. I f'kn love it!!!!!!

[bettyswollex]

Thanks for the upload, the best version I'v ever seen. harmonees are beautifull. Scotland be proud!!

[knarisa]

@gelflingy haha your comment made me laugh! but you're right!

[JasonBiochemist]

Fuck, these guys are beautiful. Especially the one on the right.

[ABurr333]

has he always had the thick lisp

[ellaleon2704]

 I LOVE YOU XXXXXXX

[booknplays]

As a Bostonian I already threw the R away! I love a Scottish brogue. I hired a guy once just because of his accent!

[dhaddox]

@booknplays I thought they hired in Boston based on the applicant's ability to pahk the cah in the yahd.

[sternbergzookie]

@booknplays I commend you for that. :-)8

[ThePrenti]

Went to the same school as them just 30 years later!!

[MissTheSnail]

We Had To Listen To This Song Over And Over In My English Lesson - It Never Got Boring

[MrRabb81]

LeCutter: it's in reference to when they first tried to break America. A few labels were keen to sign them, on the condition they dropped their accents.

[grahampurdie]

My names andy bastad  ;D

[darkangel6876]

whe'd ah his glasses?

[FlashStar74]

This is in my favourites. It's awesome!

[diamondjimlegend]

My beautiful wonderful brogue-ridden Scottish wife "Carn't Hearrrr Herrrr Acent-rrrr" and loves these guys only slightly less than Bonnie Prince Billie!

[Spykezirkov]

i wish i had a accent like that :D

be proud of ;)

[orden265]

Saw them in concert here in Melbourne Australia last December,BRIILIANT.

[gtownrojo]

Scots wha' hay!!!!

[KiltsHaggisWhisky]

Yes! A wee bit of Scottish pride! ;)

[KiltsHaggisWhisky]

Yes! A wee bit of Scottish pride! ;)

[madphilgreenballs]

Nothing more stirring and liable to raise the hairs than a good dose of bagpipes. No the Tattoo crap, but genuine heartfelt pipes. Always get a chill up the spine when I hear them, no matter where in the world I am.

[DangRockets]

hmmm, not a particularly good performance. There's no energy, it sounds ... eh, lazy?

[Piscesm00n68]

Ahhhh now that I've had a "Craig and Charlie" fix, I can get on with the rest of my day. Heaven to my ears!!

[knarisa]

@Piscesm00n68 I have been listening to The Proclaimers' music everyday for the past 4 days and I feel fantastic. They are the best medicine! =)

[shaneonya]

@Piscesm00n68 Hahahahah well written! I'm Swedish (and Pisces) and lived in Scotland for 10 years. But funnily enough I fell in love with The Proclaimers already as a teenager. Arent' they just great? Their vocals, harmonies, their humour and sense of rythm. Happy happy happy!!

[knarisa]

This is a great song. And I love their accents!

[RadicalWhig]

There's no R in Independence! :)

[bennyfaethebrig]

@RadicalWhig there is mate. a little home Rule!

[lg103476]

LOVE IT!

[quidew1]

Are these really the same guys that sang 500 miles??? I thought they were Canadian lol

[chanctonbury63]

@quidew1 They are Scottish. Canada can breathe easy....

[Dawn1959]

You guys are just awesome,been a fan from the States for many many years.

[auralconcepts]

Great guys! Cool songs. Been a fan since I purchased "Sunshine on Lieth" back in '89 or '90. Brilliant!

[shinkiro]

Love the Scottish accent. Please keep your R's right where they are :-D

[pdscotia]

The MacEverly Brothers. Brilliant!

[jenglynn9]

makes me proud to be scottish

[FlashStar74]

GOLD!!!!

[calypsoben]

I've seen these guys live. Best gig I've ever been to by a long way!

[VanBastenSuperstars]

2 minute aint long enough.More please

[buckstoneboy]

hes been so sad, cause you said his accent was bad..

[yasgar]

BRILLIANT

[the007hami]

well it truly is hard to humble when your scottish :P makes me proud to be from up north :D

[arthurvanpampus88]

really cool!!!!

[jeralyn37]

I love the accent, it makes you pay close attention, especially if your ear isn't tuned to it.

[MsGuitar27]

does anyone know the chords to this song

[MsGuitar27]

does anyone know the chords to this song

[heavyrocknroll]

such an inspiration, absolutely great, i love it :-)

[lainpdx]

My uncle was from Scotland. He was adorable. Going to Scotland is my dream vacation. I love their accents and bagpipes!! :D

[CPRules0103]

@lainpdx thanks! I am Scottish. I recomend you come to Scotland it's amazing

[AdamsApple1963]

Great song!

[CLAUSTALLER]

die zwei haben sich ihren platz in meinem herzen gesungen hab mir eine CD schn bestellt die zwei sind echt super

ihr ROCKT

[jimbo01111]

fantastic , bravo!!¬!!

[philosopheromone]

This is just so priceless! =)

[boassass]

does anyone know the chords for this? cant find them anywhere

[AquaGhostLeeja]

Feckin' fantastic....and that's coming from a sassanak! (spelling? Bugger it, who cares? lol)

[stucelt]

sassenach,but bawbag would do haha,only joking bud :)

[Runawayer]

This song is brilliant :) I still don't get the problem some people have with the song, or the accent in general. Everyone and I do mean everyone has an accent for someone else who is from elsewhere. But that's ok, it's great in fact :) Makes everyone a little more unique. And I think it's a bit what this song is about :) I have no problem understanding people with various accents irish, scottish, british...so, how come some people are so bothered to start fights and insult one another?

[scottishlad1987]

any excuse to project their anger for themselves at someone else. you've got to feel sorry for these people ; )

[weejohnny]

Magic

[jimbo01111]

that was sooo cool ;D

[12345678jkll]

you can throw the r's away then it woulr be called POCLAIMES, it would be the end of the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!

XD lol

[MikaShelley99]

@12345678jkll THE END OF THE WOLD!!!!!!!! ;)

[t0psecretshit]

@12345678jkll you mean end of the wold.

[LeCutter]

The irony of this song being that the Scottish brogue is consistently voted one of - if not - the most pleasing accents in the world. Which becomes yet more ironical when you consider most people consider the bagpipes the most annoying instrument in the world. :)

[bennyfaethebrig]

The Inverness accent is the most grammatically correct accent in the whole of the uk. They speak the best Queens English. Even better than the BBC lol. and the pipes are only anoying if ye arent wearing a kilt lol

[rovan1]

thats only because kilts just make anything seem awesome xD

[evo1dee4life]

but when they were first trying to get into music all the English rejected them because of the accent.

[Anthony8091]

@LeCutter to be honest i ( personly ) live in france & evrebody seems to like them

[victoriabagpiper]

@LeCutter WRONG!

[antiquebeast]

@LeCutter It sure is an awesome accent! First heard this band around 7 and was totally pulledn by the broge. 23 today and I still think they're awesome

[bennyfaethebrig]

@LeCutter of course its the most  annoying instrument in the world. its usually preceded by a bunch of hairy arsed Scotsmen invading a country . Would annoy anyone with ears to hear lol. btw? we won often as not!

could it be something unseen that scared them? hehe

[MultiChris1001]

@LeCutter The bagpipes are not annoying, they're absolutely beautiful.

[nancy1wv]

@LeCutter

I love the bagpipes.:)

[stucelt]

73Mackem im not sure what you mean by making a living in Scotland,but these guys were born bred and have always lived in our great wee country,although they have made a good living from gigs down south which begs the question,how fookin stupid are the English?stupid enough to let a total anglo hating group make millions,i second your post "good ole England" and Alba An Aigh

[5556665012008]

im nae bein racist or anything but i hate how they hold higland games in america and sell lepricons and shamrocks and get scottish/irish mixed up thinking its all the same... but i spose mistakes like that happen for every nationallity and everyone get annoyed... well at least we're all human

[mrgunnersmate]

nothing like a scottish lass talking to you . throws me for a loop everytime i hear that sweet tongue , need me a scottish lassie

[AnotherStargateFan]

I love this song...I wanna go to Scotland now. Really badly.

[mr4978]

trust me you dont its shittttt

[MrJohnandkatie]

scottish music is totally wasted south of the border

[73Mackem]

pity they couldnt make a livin in bonnie scotland tho...good ole england...once again...

[rovan1]

haha its a shame aye but dont go actin high and mighty :) without britain england would be fucked n before u think to argue this is a fact

[BlaatQ]

haha, great song ! :)

[jimbo01111]

fantasic

[pinkybill2003]

this is awesome. simple, guitar and two vocalists.

[Kerhuz]

what language are they talking?

is it a dialect?

[PKbugg]

I did sence sarcasm... but meh... they are talking (or rather singing) in scottish ;p

[chushinryoku]

that would be English pal

[clery88]

Good choice of words mate, it is indeed a dialect, that which seperates us from the culture-less English. Our dialect should never "grate on the Saxon ear" for they should never be graced with the presence our tongue!

[godstargodstar]

Is it a dialect ?, Scots English as in Rabbie Burns is more than a dialect, When does a dialect become a language? ony way this song is dead brilliant!!

[dukepeet]

one (or perhaps more) of my lingustics professors quoted that 'a language is a dialect with an army and a navy'

[5556665012008]

saxon isnae just english though coz saxons invaded england

[cuteymus]

u fuck... ass hole. where ur name from ???

[MrJohnandkatie]

its effin scottish you ignorant twonk

[Kerhuz]

I know it's scottish you tit!

Sarcasm! Ring a bell?

Now go play your bagpipe...

[dukepeet]

actually the average american accent does not throw the r away:P

[clonbhoy]

Hilarious lyrics from the best band to come out of Scotland. Pure genius.

[DJGrenola]

Er, yeah, this song has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with America. "On your green and pleasant land" is a direct reference to the line "In England's green and pleasant land" in the famous poem by William Blake, more commonly sung as the nationalistic hymn "Jerusalem".

Always loved this record, anyway -- terrific sense of humour in the lyrics.

[USnavySSN]

AMESOME.

[tremeluzir]

This is just cute!

[besian1987]

where is Peter Griffin

[ecc84]

theres a verse and two chorus's missing from this performance.

[tonysshadow]

Lordy! I love reading USA yankee chatter. Myself born and bred in Georgia, I just shake my head and laugh at most yankee mental midgets.

They have no idea about the Europeans that actually made the USA what it is.... Scots, Irish, English, English, German. Polish,

Pretty damn pathetic actuallly.

Once, most folks automatically understood why Star Trek had Scotty as an engineer. ( I can already hear USA teens scratching heads)

Personally I take pride in our

[edomac1]

cluinim go !! Thats irish by the way

[jamgilp]

People arguing about the america thing. I think it's pretty clear in the song that it was written after an English visit - "make sure my words on your SAXON ears don't grate". Berilleeeant song!!

[LoysanHanna]

Wooaahhh !!

This gives me goose bumps.

Love the text :)

[allandryburgh]

i think it is because if you listen to the English when they speak in many of the accents you find that they are reluctant to use the letter "r" thus throwing it away

[mrbonedigger]

well done. of course that is the reason why.but is throwing the R away a scots cRRRime or an english cryime

[sirarthurfiggis]

Throwing the "R" away is the difference between, say, the Scottish pronunciation of "beer" as something like "bee-arrgh" versus the English pronunciation of "beeh," where the R isn't actually enunciated.

[KardKaper]

Oi! Maw, gimme some BEE-ARRGH! lol, that would be hillarious if we actually spoke like that.

[lockstock26791]

No..you're all wrong! This song is about when the proclaimers were tryin to make it in america and the record companies wanted them to change there scottish accents so there songs could be more easily understood ..hence the line "you say that if i wanna get ahead,the language i use should be left for dead,it doesnt please your ear"! The legends of course refused to change there classic accents and still made it anyway! Class duo to be remembered!

[tinylass21]

Well done, Lockstock, you know the boys! And aren't we pleased they didn't bend to please the masses!!!

[blasphematic]

Nonesense. I think your still full of John Bull.

Look it up.

[STEVODUNN1987]

No John Bull was there way of sayin Bull shit

[STEVODUNN1987]

No Lock Stock your WRONG!!! it was when they were looking for a record company in ENGLAND!!! this song was written BEFORE they went to America it's off the This is the Story Album no Sunshine on Leith. The reason behind it was Simple Minds Lead singer Jim Kerr is scottish but doesn't sing in a scottish Accent & the record company wanted the proclaimers to do the same. but they refused & wrote this song as a protest i suppose at saying this is WHO we are & this is HOW we sing like it or lump it

[lockstock26791]

Man...you've no idea...i agree with the whole 'like it or lump it' but other than that you're way off! they said it at one of their gigs i was at so unless you're claiming that the proclaimers don't know what they wrote their own song about i think you're horribly wrong! neways at least we're in agreement that the bhoys are legends!

[STEVODUNN1987]

They Never played America in 86 they toured america when they released Sunshine on Leith which was 88 i think i should know the history of the proclaimers i OWN every album & it was in a documentary years ago to why they wrote it which is as i said above

[316connor]

A quote from the album 'The Proclaimers The Best of...'

"'Throw The R Away' opens 'This Is The Story'.

Charlie - 'One of the first things we ever wrote. W'd met a couple of people, publishers, record company people and they said things like: Jim Kerr speaks in a Glasgow accent but he doesn't sing in it. One of the reasons people like what we do is because we do sing in our own accents. That probably does limit the number of people who'll buy your records but it's our lyrics,

[316connor]

it's our life we're talking about and we'll sing it in our own way. It was a statement of intent and a reasonably humourous one as well.'"

The song was released in 1987 according to the album and the Proclaimers didn't have success in America until 1993 when they had their first hit there. It would seem to me from reading through the album's booklet that the song is written because of us dreadful English rather than anything to do with America. I might be wrong as I only havethe one album!

[swayBboy]

This song is about when the scots pronounce words with an R example is engllish people think scots are sayin worm when they are sayin it's warm , we pronounce words slightly different and the english have had difficulty or refuse to understand us . thats it

[list55]

is this about the english putting an extra R in drawing? really annoys me that.

[dukepeet]

no, this is about the lack of r in british english in the word "word", for example:) which is their in scottish. i hope i'm right:P

[list55]

oh. must listen to it more closely. still, i squirm when the english say "lawr and order"

[dukepeet]

sure, and when they say they "sawr a film":) i've just heard it in a beatles song this morning.

[clery88]

Great tune.

By the way, mon the Hibs x

[mr4978]

clery88 proud m8 but there playing fuckin shite

[lostcaus]

haha they rock. its like bon scott from acdc

we dont change our accents for anyone!!!

[samwel7]

Anyone know the guitar chords for this song?? Can't find them anywhere

[livernick]

I tried to play it my own... Use a capo on the 4th.

Play E chord (basicaly is G#), So.. (E).I've been so (A)sad..., since (C) you said my accent was (E)bad...she worn a (A) frown this Cale (C) donian clown....

And then .... (E7) I'm just have to learn to (A) hesitate, to make sure my words on your Sa(B)xon ears dont (E) grade...and goes like this... Worked for me...

Bye

Nick

[dukepeet]

the intro is E, A, E, B7 (x21202)

verse is E, A, Am

chorus is E, A, A-E, B7-E

of the "You say that if I want to get ahead" bit i'm not sure, but i play E, G (with open B and E strings, so 320000), A, G

[oxCrystalProductions]

ssssccccoooootttiisshhhhh!!!!

[1b0r90]

I LOOOOOOVE this song!! I've listened it about 50times and I can't get bored with it. :)

[tomwebb123]

woooooooo THE PROCLAIMERS ARE AWESOME!!!!!!

[lynelhutz]

I always hate hearing 500 miles played so often because they have so many other better songs...such as this one

[mightybooshisluv]

sigh. is it weird that a seventeen year old girl like me thinks they are the hottest guys ever??

[MadamCassandra]

nope! im 17 and im on the same boat!

[VictorianLyddie]

I am 13 (going on 14) and I love them

They are awesome

I can't wait for the next concert that I can go to

[misfitwitch]

I love the accents... don't change a THING!!!!

[sinalco2006]

Keep the 'R'!!

I love The Proclaimers. Lang may their lum reek!

[ambrookers]

Awesome. Their accent rocks. :D

[shanghailow]

Englishhammer - u condescending fool. Pro-Scottish?! They are Scottish u nob.And thank God they are one of the few people flying the flag proudly for us. Open your "Saxon ears" and listen to the lyrics of this song. And TF we won't have to put up with people like like u after the Referendum. SNP all the way

[1englishhammer]

I just meant in general.....soz, didn't realise how random my comment was till i read it again lol

[1englishhammer]

fantastic song.....just dont like their pro-scottish views

[moila12]

not at all!

it has nothing to do with that :|

[sabotage427]

they would be good to have around during a keg party.

[bellanita]

This is the only song of theirs I have always liked and I LOVE it :)

[zelenko2]

lol this song is good... but can't beat the 500 miles song :P

[Mariekesone]

Happy Hogmanay*****

This is so GUID!!They are twin-brothers..

used to look identical...

oooh The harmonising is Excellent!

[richard39bucks]

oh i like this one :o)

[Tompws]

AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!

[antifolkhero]

I want these guys to tour again. I love this music.

[mangarules96]

i love these geezars! mon` the scots!!!!!