Scottish Tunes and the Desi Regiments

Having served for 35 years in a Regiment and having frozen to attention every time the Regimental March past played, all I remember is a feeling of intense pride and a deep respect for the Flag and the Regiment when I heard these notes.

Back O Bennachie is our Regimental March-past. Though I never learnt the lyrics nor the history of the song I have developed a close attachment for the tune. I just presumed that it was a song about soldier, soldiering and battles. In the pre internet days, ignorance on any subject was well preserved as there was no way to check out facts. One just went by feelings rather than well researched facts.

I remember , a commanding officer musing aloud, “why do we need a march-past called 'Back O Bennachie' ? Half the people can't spell it or pronounce it and nobody can understand it; we need an Indian tune composed by a great Indian musician like Pandit Ravishankar.” The next day was 15 Aug and after the function at the JCOs Club, we were all standing in attention and as the last notes of the Regimental March past played , he looked at me , gently shook his head and muttered 'no, no, we should stick to it'

As a good adjutant, I agreed with him on both the occasions and as the feelings go , it was not difficult to agree.

Years passed and one fine day, my son sent a video clip of the song played on mandolin. Following that link and further surfing in breadth and depth led to numerous versions. I downloaded and read up everything on the tune and also listened to some terrific versions of the tune played on mandolin, guitar and bag pipe.

It is a Scottish folk song, a sad love song about a girl who talks of two suitors. As the story goes, both the suitors die under different circumstances and it ends on a sad note

"   It's noo that twice I've been a bride,

I've been a bride, I've been a bride,

It's noo that twice I've been a bride,

But a wife I'll never be.    "

For whatever reason , the song is set to a lively tune. Today, it appears to be a huge joke; it could well have been 'Mary had a little lamb' . What comes to my mind is the words of Jiddu Krishnamurti that seemingly meaningless rituals and words can become profoundly sacred through repetition over a period of time.It was  something I had read long back, but courtesy, 'the net', I reproduce it below.

.......By repeating Amen or Om or Coca-Cola indefinitely you will obviously have a certain experience because by repetition the mind becomes quiet. It is a well known phenomenon which has been practised for thousands of years in India - Mantra Yoga it is called. By repetition you can induce the mind to be gentle and soft but it is still a petty, shoddy, little mind. You might as well put a piece of stick you have picked up in the garden on the mantelpiece and give it a flower every day. In a month you will be worshipping it and not to put a flower in front of it will become a sin......

Some links to lyrics and videos   (The song is called ' back o bennachie' or 'gin I were the gadie rins' )

On mandolin

Old Blind Dogs 

The Bag pipe

On Accordion

The Lyrics