Four Stone Walls - Capercaillie

[fionabananas]

I wish I had been there.....although in 1992 I would have only been 2 years old!! I am a big Capercaillie fan after my mum and dad having the CD when I was growing up! I thank them a lot for shaping my music taste!

I have just looked it up and you can get this concert on DVD.....I might have to do that! :) I really hope to see Capercaillie live at somepoint!

[billyhunchback]

Karen Matheson and Mary Black  SHEER CLASS

[Merseymike]

So appropriate to current events, some things never change

[shaloneithne]

@rjbuckley1271 but you are the one who pretended to know how the world would look if there were no borders. Since the biggest cause for borders has been the need to protect life and limb there's a good chance that if no one had ever had the guts to stand up and say "this is mine, you can't have it" then we might just as easily be living in a world more like Nazi Germany or worse, than a world full of a myriad of beautiful and unique cultures. Imagine a world where no one stood up for their own.

[AlbaSiar]

@shaloneithne - Good comment - Totally agree. I'm afraid the world is full of dreamers.

[shaloneithne]

@rjbuckley1271 You, are a fool Nationality is part of what makes us better. and music like this, that expresses how another side feels... is one of the best ways to help people see that we are all alike in the important ways

[VeronikRosa]

Simply put...BRILLANT!

[MedusasKimono]

beautiful!

[kabivose]

@gferrie123 Apparently some Pictish inscriptions have been discovered to be ancient Welsh. Cumbric was also pretty much Welsh.

[11vered]

I love this style of music. Love the way she sings!

[SweetSnakeBzz]

Beautiful voice and lovely sound

[gunnymah]

You need to study a bit of history. Celtic and Germanic are terms referring to two seperate cultural and linguistic branches within the Indo European people, just as Hellenic, Italic Slavic and Iranic are. The Celtic cultures in western and central Europe predate the Germanic peoples by over a thousand years. The Germanic culture was still locked in Scandinavia.

[django1234100]

Love this piece...

[bigbastard1972]

Love this bit of music and cant be arsed with the comments about who we are, want to be or other..................just enjoy the music for what it is please....

[dagnab1]

@gferrie123 IRISH AND SCOTT ARE FAMILY SAME TRIBES GET IT

[triptuesday]

Funky Folk Music - I love it ! I saw Capercaillie a couple of months ago - The can still do it !!

-kingdoncajon- "Kismet Hardy"

[erandale]

I met them once in Glasgow she is as charming as she is beautifull.

[sheilamaclean]

Ah, lovely mullets, bring 'em back i say!! And Karen's hair pretty fab too.

[ralfemmelius]

It is so very typical for northern part of british islands, it is too good for franconian heartbeats.

[Highlander9992003]

AWESOME!

[MabonFaeries]

Gorgeous woman... Four stone walls is the sign of the Cross.

[EDDIEK31]

Bloody fantastic song, scottish thru and thru. scottish, irish music all bloody good. celtic music cannot beat it !!!!

[EDDIEK31]

Bloody fantastic song, scottish thru and thru

[Taitmomma]

epic mullets

[capttheo1]

@gferrie123 Scottish, Irish, it's all very good.

[RuthieChar]

love it!!  When your this far from home it matters little if its Scottish, Irish, or from over here...the sound puts me hame.

[ooxderlordxoo]

I like it :)

[WDH59510]

@gferrie123 True, though Manus Lunny is from the other side of the Irish Sea.

[vaelupetseve]

very nice...thanks for sharing

[sup268]

I look at the older music and how there is a low amount of view and then i look at the newer crap and it makes me sick

[SpikedYum]

@sup268

so true i mean there is a couple good music today thats good but none of them are really mainstream im only 17 and i wish i was back in a time with better meaningful music than there is today

[HypernessOverload]

@SpikedYum I'm 17 also, and can't agree more.

[40ny]

It's no wonder I just love Scotland :-)

[40ny]

I love Scotland :-)

[asylumbreakout]

Does anyone know which of their albums this song is on. Love it.

[jlbergqvist]

@asylumbreakout "Secret People" is the album.

[asylumbreakout]

@jlbergqvist cheers mate

[asylumbreakout]

Im not Scottish but lived in the Highlands for two years. My family live there and really got to like capercaillie whilst living there. Big respect to the scottish people and their wonderful country.

[dennykay]

i first heard them like...15 or 16 years ago, lost the cd, never found a shop to buy a cd and now found them again. yay!

[Jharden1982]

This is the first time I heard this band, I actually came across it looking for Enya, but now I'm hooked. They're amazing, how long have they been playing?

[jlbergqvist]

@Jharden1982 Years, their first album came out in 1984 (very hard to find), had their peak in terms of popularity in the mid 90s id say, their most recent album came out in 2008 (Roses and Tears)

[applearash]

irish all the way

[NorthLimitation]

@applearash

Errr...Capercaillie are Scottish, not Irish ;)

[XTCoello]

espectacular¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ saludos de argentina

[Eedgit]

Utterly enchanting piece!

This has to be one of my all time favorite bands. They are gifted to the max and Karen is as beautiful as she is talented.

Even though I'm not in Scotland at the moment, it brings me joy to know that just the click of a mouse can take me back to my own again, and ease the homesickness.

Thank you so much for posting this wee gem.

[ccrr1000]

exelente grupo...

[jmbgouveia]

I confese I didn't know this group. Ii would miss it if wasn't for Youtube and you Tom I supose.cheers, joao

[PhalainaBelgium]

Fantastic band !!  Phalaïna

[osrik100]

i just love it!!!! irish scotland for the win! i am serbian btw ;D

[MissSpock13579]

great song :)



[coade123]

Karen sure scrubs up well

[Newbattle2007]

Was lucky enough to see Capercaillie live in concert one time at a Scottish Folk Festival in Germany. Great and inspirational musicians who create a magic athmosphere at their concerts. There is still honest music out there that comes straight from the heart.

[tofthetrinity]

Greetings from greece! WOW im speechless! i've always liked celtic and folk music but this one is extraordinary...:) also, a great live performance. Has anyone heard of Lothlorien band btw? I know this is a Capercaillie song but it's fun to broaden our horizons!

[JimmySteller]

Who disliked this?? :O

[xnotjustadreamx]

Capercaillie make me proud to be Scottish, I'm studying in Spain right now, and just listening to the music reminds me of driving around Perthshire on holiday as a child :) <3

[Lamporre]

2:28-2:41 one of my favourite parts of the song. I wish it had lasted a bit longer

[JimmySteller]

Brilliant song.

I've always loved Celtic music, and this is just another fine example of that great genre :)

[joolsfiddle]

I love this song.  Fantastic!

[agirlwithdreams25]

Wow I didnt think I would like this THNX carrie

[Stramon1um]

wonderful :D

[roksancastle]

"Ranarop" was folk album of the year

[roksancastle]

If you like this, be sure to check out the music of the Finnish band Gjallarhorn!!!!!

[guiara52]

Karen you bright like a star in the Universe, our voice is unique... your style magnificent, your band is awesome.. congratulations

[stillyet]

For heaven's sake it's about US - rural Scots. In this village, of roughly 100 houses on the main street, just two are now occupied by local people. Just two. You can't buy houses here for the wages they pay here, so we're driven out!

There's two families with children in the school here who live in bloody tents. In Scotland. In winter.

This song fair gars me greet. This is my Scotland, it should be our national anthem.

[Urban50Hermit]

There's a lot of argument here all based on the original poster's comment that the song is about the Highland Clearances. Dare I suggest that it all might just have been irrelevant to the song? Or have you all missed the reference halfway through to caravans? I've always believed that the song is about gypsies. Now there's a marginalised people....

[matineccy]

strengthnfaith omits the influence and seed of the Vikings and Germanic tribes for some reason. Let us not get carried away with history here. Also many more scots settled in a place called Nova Scotia i.i New Scotland

From a Celtic Englishman

[chickenfizz]

I love this band. I think (as a sound engineer) much of it has to do with the excellent the way their CDs (and thus their live performances) are mixed. I love that the kick snare and bass are so forefront in the mix, just very well done and so much fun to listen to!

[sesenton]

It doesn't matter if the scots are british or not. If they don't WANT TO be it, they must be free!!

Alba an Aigh 4è!

[hoosyerdaddie]

Scrooge McDuck is Scottish. Therefore, Scotland owns.

[gustavinho71]

Beautiful singer :)

[benalleyn]

Capercaillie and Karen M are just awesome to listen to.

[IIICyrenaica]

Let's remember Bonnie Prince Charlie lost at Culloden. The Brits were tired of Scots rebellions so they got rid of the Scots, many of whom settled in Kentucky, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

[BartyGreystoke]

Er - I think you will find that the Scots are Brits!

In fact one of the ancient Briton kingdoms was the kingdom of Strathclyde in what is now W. Scotland.

[strengthnfaith]

The Scots are a Mixture of both Godelic Celts and Britonic Celts...

[jeflossie]

@strengthnfaith When the Agles came to england the acute angles went North and West. The obtuse anbges stayed put.

[jeflossie]

@jeflossie angles = silly fingers

[LinnTractorNut]

Around the world throughout history the agrarian people are pushed aside to make way for progress, maybe the Clearances back then, the appalachian hill folk displaced by TVA schemes of those wiped out by Lenin and Stalin that stood in their way, the American or Chinese farmers now. All for the good of the many. The right of every person to buy, or build their own home is now a government decision not their own. Zoning is a tool or racial/class discrimination if you think about it.

[vernonbear]

Why do you say 'All for the good of the many'? In the vast majority of cases the benefit for the clearance of lands is for the benefit of the land-owning rich and wealthy. The many rarely directly benefit.

[claymoreman90]

the 'many' were the ones removed yu brain dead prick.

[LinnTractorNut]

Everything the government does is always justified by the catch phrase/slogan " for the public good" or "the health, safety and welfare of the general public" or "for the good of the many." The destruction of indvidualism in the name of pluraIity. I apologise if you failed to understand my sarcasm, can only guess you are not familiar with liberal facism a.k.a. "progressives" in the USA? And yes, in the end, more power to the government only benefits those who run it and their pals.

[codyterrier]

LMFAO@gferrie123.

Fantastic band love them......

[animalunaris]

If I remember rightly, many of the landowners were Scottish, Anglicised thye may have been,. English/Scots speakers even, but Scottish.

And their mercenaries who helped them to burn cottages and turf whole communities, like cattle into ships leaving for foreign lands - locals also.

The English authorities of the time may have had a lot to answer for, but let's not forget that the animosity between Highlander and Lowlander is well documented. They did bad things to their own people.

[iCookiess]

gferrie123 - He is referring to Christian versus Pagan believes (Scots religion was Pagan before the Brits came in to take land). I do believe that Christmas, which is NOT the birth of Jesus was "made-up" to contend with the Harvest Moon. (I think) A big Pagan Holiday follow upon the December 25th (possibly longer then just 1 day)

[billgr0248]

forget hell...never

[milaraven]

Excuse me ! has been a GREAT mistake.

I know that the band are Scottish. .. but my mind trumped me. I ´ve several albums of them and I like very much.

Thank you for correcting my failure ;-)

(and sorry, because me english languaje it´s not very well) Regards from Spain.-

[milaraven]

I love Capercaillie ! I love all Irish music !

Thanks so much.

[roksancastle]

"[R]eferring to contemporary issues?" No, not yet; but she will be if Britain gets any more immigrants, and if the spineless politicians pander to them as they are now. They'll just chuck Brits out of their houses and give them to immigrants. I mean, the government already countenance chucking Christmas out of british schools in favour of Eid. If you chuck out the baby Jesus, what's a british family?

[Elbiousa]

amazing song...Elbio from Brazil.

[SaraCampbell0]

This has to be one of the best songs ever.

[lellomelillo]

BRAVI Caper, one of the most amazing group of celtic music

[Oromis890]

This is the most beautiful song that I have heard in a long while. Karen Matheson is a beautiful leader, with a beautiful voice to boot. I LOVE Capercaillie!

[MsBOBBIN]

Have just found them Great lovely sounds and nice vocals cool

[weyremaster]

brilliant band seen them many times here in aberdeen

def a favourite band of mine and karen has a fantastic voice

[hoosyerdaddie]

That's some extremely 1992 hair, but the voice is great!

[thesmokingypsy]

Well done capercaillie, tis been age's since I've heard this one.

Loved yous when you done the music hall in Aberdeen.

[blairboy69]

amazing song!!

[Seachd12]

Is she referring to contemporary issues ?

[gourdonboy]

That's some voice! Awesome!

[JepeMundo]

Great song! Love it!!!

[emlynmusic]

love it.

[ciadmilefailte]

...in the sense that it tells a political story...it's not particularly confrontational or combative.

[ciadmilefailte]

It's quite clear that this is indeed a political song, but what's wrong with that? :)

[paul1916]

Mon the Celtic

[amandaberesford]

Really like Capercaillie. I have heard them over the years and it's great to see them on here. I am the descendant of Scottish Highlanders, and have always been proud of their tenacity and perseverance.

[catboxcatboxcatbox]

New Album out March 31 :)

[PhalainaBelgium]

Excellent performance of this scottish group ! Difficult to believe they intended to induce a political message ! Phalaina

[Baplermet]

As a Sassanach (and proud to be so) I love Capercaillie and Scotland - but let's leave out all this Gaelic chip off the shoulder business. My ancestors were Scots, and the English did do some dastardly stuff north of the border - often assisted by the very Scots themselves. And how many Scots are in the current Westminster Cabinet - Gordon Brown for one?

[amandaberesford]

Well, people often co-opt locals to do the dirty work for them. That doesn't make it right, or change what happened and the long range effects.

[PhoenixFireRising]

My 3 favorite songs are 4 Stone Walls, Coisich a Ruin, and Grace & Pride. So thank you very, very much for posting this! I've listened to it some 20x this morning alone.

[wellershill]

Wonderful group and song. All over the Highlands you see the ruins of four stone walls. From the infamous Clearances when crofters were (often violently) forced off their small farms by the rich English and replaced by sheep.

[europadd]

Yes it is a wonderful song. About the clearances though, actually they were betrayed by the clan cheiftans, and there were other Scottish people in charge too you know. "In their capacity as trustees on insolvent estates eminent Edinburgh accountants ordered some of the most notorious clearances of the mid-19th century. " Stephen P. Walker.

[wellershill]

Yes, that's half-true. There was some betrayal - Scottish factors and some clan chieftains. But the land grab was initiated by the English. Many also want to ignore the physical brutality (eg. burning crofts with tenants inside - or clubbing women)and forced transportation overseas that resulted from the Clearances. All documented by the Napier Commission of the 1880s. I have Scottish, English, Norwegian and German ancestors so can be Euro-balanced. :-)

[bnprenaissance]

Did clans not kill each other.

[wellershill]

Not in the Clearances. The Disarming Act of 1745 banned the bearing of arms. The Proscription Act 1747 banned wearing Highland dress. Punishment was transportation or prison! Guess why so many Canadians, Australians etc have Scottish heritage. the highland culture was suppressed.

[CelticSaxon]

Yeah but the highlanders didn't exactly give the lowlanders a good time with all their raiding and pillaging etc, so it's hardly surprising that they were ultimately suppressed is it? Let's be honest, it aint all about bad old Johnny English, if the highlanders hadn't been so warlike none of this may have happenened. Love the song by the way!

[wellershill]

I wouldn't go there if I were you - the Lowlanders pillaged the northern English. Also the Highlanders were the elite fighters in the British Army for many years - despite having their farms taken from etc. Such loyalty to Britain was not repaid. Today a united Scotland is what matters.

[CelticSaxon]

Did not the Highlanders pillage the lowlanders and the Northern English? Is that not why the Jacobites where fought against by not only English but Scots together? Perhaps if they had not invaded England in the first place none of this would have happened!

[wellershill]

I think Highlanders chose the Jacobite side as a way of getting independence. Others kept out of it, and others fought with the English led by Cumberland, whose actions after the battle were incredibly brutal even for that time. If England had allowed the Scots independence it wouldn't have happened. The English are still living off Scottish North Sea oil.

[PhoenixFireRising]

I don't understand all the focus on past mistakes & what could have been avoided if some decision hadn't been made. Doesn't she sing, "Getting older, looking back, still the fact is nothing's changed at all"? We are still marginalizing people & stepping on others for material advancement - but we each can make better choices from here forward. We should stop fighting over who did what & start taking actions that help ALL of us live w/honest wages, pride, dignity, & our own 4 stone walls.

[wellershill]

That's a good positive sentiment. I agree. But to paraphrase Santanya: "Those who forget the lessons of history are condemned to repeat the mistakes". The Germans teach the horrors of Nazism in school - they have honestly confronted the past. The Japanese refuse to and still teach their kids they were not the aggressors in WW2 or earlier against China. That's how we get 'nothing changing'.

[PhoenixFireRising]

I agree, yet believe that to only teach what Not to do is insufficient. W/out teaching what to Do, we just assuage guilt feelings changing nothing. Let's not forget history, but instead use it to create action. I'm not Jewish, nor know any, but am pretty sure that although we no longer have ovens & gas, we also do not have pro-Semites. There's the lack of change. While we spend time assigning blame for who did what, which of us is figuring how to love everyone no matter who they are? I wonder.

[CelticSaxon]

Ok, we're the bad guy's. And you are purer than the driven snow. Was it just Scottish people who discovered North sea oil by the way? Was it just pure blood Scottish people who drew it from the earth and even in some cases died doing so? My Grandads Scottish by the way, and I'm British and proud of it!

[wellershill]

Every nation has something to be ashamed of. It's whether they have the courage to acknowledge it that matters. I'm Australian and so live on land stolen, often violently, from the Aborigines by Brits. My ancestors are English, Scottish, Norwegian and German. All those nations have skeletons in the closet as well as proud histories. Parochialism is sad. Long live the European Union!

[CelticSaxon]

By your own admission you state that parochialism is sad, and I couldn't agree with you more, the only thing I don't understand though is your willingness to subscribe to it?

[scotishjohn]

bad bad man

cheers

[Sid7630]

i think you ought to study a bit more scottish history and understand the complexities of politics.

[tinkerbellinparis]

OMG I forgot about this song!!LOL I used to go round as a wee lass singing this all the time giving it laldy....and going to runrig concerts!!LOL Well that part ain't changed!!LOL

[SnKno1]

good to know some 1 with good taste ☻☻☻

[SnKno1]

love this song, fantastic! her and Runrig are the best

[friog]

Been looking forthis song for a long time. Thankyou.

[lcalhoon]

Thanks for putting this up. Post Rann na Mona if you can.