Amazing Grace (Hymn) ••• [LISTEN]
The pipe band played this tune at Gesu Church during Paul's funeral; Bill/Lou played it for Jan at Sts. Peter & Paul church and at the cemetery in Door County.

Lyrics were written c.1772 by John Newton, a slave trader turned Christian minister, and years later set to the very old pipe tune (of Scottish or Irish origin) that we associate with it today. Newton is said to have written the lyrics during a 'hymn writing competition' with another minister. They refer to personal salvation; Newton finally repudiated the evil of slavery only at the end of his life (many years after the song was written) transformed finally by the Lord's unending patience.

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.

In her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe added this now-familiar final verse (possibly taken from another hymn):

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun.

The Flowers of the Forest (Lament) ••• [LISTEN]
Bill/Lou played this ancient Scottish lament for Jan at the cemetery in Door County, and for Paul on the boat on Lake MacDonald.

Due to the content of the lyrics and the reverence for the tune, this is one of the few tunes that many pipers will only perform at funerals or memorial services, and only practice in private or to instruct other pipers. The lyrics in Scots describe the grief of women and children at the loss of their young men gone too soon, their “flowers of the forest”. Although the original words are unknown, the melody was recorded in c. 1615-25 in the John Skene of Halyards Manuscript as "Flowres of the Forrest," though it may have been composed earlier.

The lyrics below were written by Jean Elliot in the 18th century and are those most commonly sung today. It is a reworking of an older song about the non-return of the large number of Scottish soldiers after the Battle of Flodden (1513), when 10,000 are said to have perished along with their King James IV and large numbers of the nobility.

LISTEN to a vocal version here

I've heard the lilting, at the yowe-milking,
Lasses a-lilting before dawn o' day;
But now they are moaning on ilka green loaning;
"The Flowers of the Forest are a' wede away".

At buchts, in the morning, nae blythe lads are scorning;
The lasses are lonely and dowie and wae.
Nae daffin', nae gabbin', but sighing and sobbing,
Ilk ane lifts her leglen, and hies her away.

In hairst, at the shearing, nae youths now are jeering,
The Bandsters are lyart, and runkled and grey.
At fair or at preaching, nae wooing, nae fleeching,
The Flowers of the Forest are a' wede away.

At e'en, in the gloaming, nae swankies are roaming,
'Bout stacks wi' the lasses at bogle to play.
But ilk ane sits drearie, lamenting her dearie,
The Flowers of the Forest are a' wede away.

Dule and wae for the order sent our lads to the Border;
The English, for ance, by guile wan the day:
The Flowers of the Forest, that foucht aye the foremost,
The prime o' our land are cauld in the clay.

We'll hae nae mair lilting, at the yowe-milking,
Women and bairns are dowie and wae.
Sighing and moaning, on ilka green loaning,
The Flowers of the Forest are all wede away.

Meaning of unusual words:
yowe = ewe
ilka = every
wede = withered
buchts = cattle pens
dowie = sad
wae = woeful
daffin' = dallying
gabbin' = talking
leglen = stool
hairst = harvest
bandsters = binders
lyart = grizzled
runkled = crumpled
fleeching = coaxing
gloaming = twilight
swankies = young lads
bogle = peek-a-boo
dule = mourning clothes

Highland Cathedral (Slow Air) ••• [LISTEN]
One of Lou/Bill/Dad's favorites. Katie Berigan and her pipers played this modern (1985) tune at Paul's Irish Wake.

Katie Berigan said later that The Minstrel Boy means a great deal to her. It was the first tune she'd ever played in public, at the funeral of her father.

Two verses were written by Thomas Moore (1779-1852), set to the melody of "The Moreen", an ancient Irish aire. It is believed that Moore composed the song as a memorial to several of his friends, fellow student at Trinity College, who had participated in the 1798 rebellion of the United Irishmen. One died in prison, another was wounded, and a third captured and hung.

The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
In the ranks of death you will find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"

The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;

And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slavery!"

The song was a favorite of the many Irishmen who fought during the U.S. Civil War, primarily on the Union side. It was at this time that a third verse was added by unknown authors:

The Minstrel Boy will return we pray
When we hear the news we all will cheer it,
The minstrel boy will return one day,
Torn perhaps in body, not in spirit.

Then may he play on his harp in peace,
In a world such as Heaven intended,
For all the bitterness of man must cease,
And ev'ry battle must be ended.

Green Hills Of Tyrol (Retreat March) ••• [LISTEN]
Bill/Lou played this tune last for Paul on the boat on Lake MacDonald. Slow 'retreats' are tunes played at the close of the day.

This tune was written during the Crimean War (1853-1856) by John MacLeod, Pipe Major of the famous 93rd Highlanders ("the thin red streak tipped with a line of steel"). He adapted it after hearing a Sardinian band play a melody used by Rossini in William Tell -- that was in turn based on a folk tune from the Alps.

The lyrics are about "The Scottish Soldier", weary of battle who wants to go home. This tune seemed appropriate as we brought Paul's ashes to Glacier Park's mountain hills -- not the 'hills of home', yet nevertheless the home of his soul.

There was a soldier, a Scottish soldier
Who wandered far away and soldiered far away
There was none bolder, with good broad shoulder
He's fought in many a fray, and fought and won.
He'd seen the glory and told the story
Of battles glorious and deeds victorious
But now he's sighing, his heart is crying
To leave these green hills of Tyrol.

Chorus
Because these green hills are not highland hills
Or the island hills, they're not my land's hills
And fair as these green foreign hills may be,
They are not the hills of home.

And so this soldier, this Scottish soldier
Will wander far no more and soldier far no more
And on a hillside, a Scottish hillside
You'll hear a piper play his soldier home.
He'd seen the glory, he'd told his story
Of battles glorious and deeds victorious
The bugles cease now, he is at peace now
Far from those green hills of Tyrol.

Chorus