One of my all-time favorites is a song written by Scottish songwriter Dougie MacLean. And my favorite cover was sung by an Irish vocal teacher and a former member of the all-female vocal group Celtic Woman, Lisa Kelly. This song was particularly fascinating because the lyrics were written in just under ten minutes while Dougie was sitting on a beach in France in the late 1970s, feeling homesick. So when I first heard this song, I was shocked by the amount of passion and genuine love that the author poured into his hometown of Scotland. The emotions were portrayed so vividly, vibrantly, and genuinely to the point that it has bought tears to my eyes. The funny part, though, is that I have actually never been to Scotland, France, or Great Britain in-person, ever.

The song started off with the line, “I don’t know if you can see the changes that have come over me.” This line essentially pours out the inevitable truth of human aging and how it could drastically change a person’s physical appearance over the years. Then, in a minuscule turn of events, it started to recall the older memories of childhood with the line that said, “So I’ve been telling old stories, singing songs, that make me think about where I come from.” It summoned the author’s recollection of the older fairytales, stories, and possibly even lullabies accompanying his childhood. It shows an authentic reminiscence of one’s past. Then, it hopped into the climactic part of the song, that is, the chorus. With the lines that said, “Let me tell you that I love you and I think about you all the time. Caledonia you’re calling me and now I’m going home.”

Those two lines of lyrics really took off to be the tip of the emotions of this entire song because it created the excitement that the author may finally return home to where he belongs and desires to be. In combination with Lisa’s angelic tone of voice, these lines of lyrics have undoubtedly taken the scenery of the song to a whole new level. I strongly encourage everyone to take a listen and immerse themselves and experience it first hand. You will not be disappointed.

Work Cited

MacLean, Dougie. “Dougie Maclean – Caledonia.” Edited by Genius, Genius, https://genius.com/Dougie-maclean-caledonia-lyrics.

Responses to the professor or other students for other student posts:

Response 1: I went ahead and searched up this song on YouTube and found a cover by Nightcore. At first, to be totally honest, I was a bit disturbed, shaken, and feeling a bit unease with the graphical lyrics of this particular song since it sounded like it gratified and praised some of what I see as dangerous actions. But upon finishing it the first time, I replayed it for a second time. And this time, although am still a bit shaken by the graphical lyrics, I definitely felt it was a bit more tolerable since I knew what was coming and expected from the first time around. That has also made it easier for me to see through the lyrics with a bit more clarity and less subjectivity. Because aside from the graphical lyrics, I have a strong feeling that the original songwriter or this cover singer was trying to convey a message that, this is, in fact, the most accurate depiction or reflection so to speak of what a typical teenager actually feels about these topics, contradicting of what parents or psychiatrists may think or believe. In combination with “Annabelle” type of suspenseful melodies, it adds to the idea that, although they feel this way, it might not always be the best choice in life. Despite parental objections, these actions could also potentially put teenagers in immense danger and potentially cause irreversible and lasting consequences to a teenager’s future wellbeing. Without digging deeper into the songwriter’s life experiences, I also had a feeling that the author is probably relatively young and may have had a rebellious past during their puberty years. With that, he or she was able to create a widespread resonance among the younger generations of audience and listeners. But regardless, this song is very interesting indeed, and the suspenseful melodies echos extremely well with the lyrics themselves.

Response 2: After hearing this song, I have to first say that this song’s musical rhythm is very lighthearted and cheerful. It sort of ties in and goes hand in hand with the lyrics. Although the lyrical part is a bit explicit, it did put on a true display of what love truly is between two young lovebirds. Also aside from that, the way that the vocalist portrayed and sang this song shows a high degree of appreciation of the companionship between them. This further fuels the lovey-dovey happiness between the two. I’m not going to lie, but as a person that has been single all my life, after hearing this song, it sort of inspired me to actually want to pursue a relationship and get a firsthand experience, that is, the everlasting love. Honestly, this song reminds me of a popular meme on Chinese Tiktok that says, “好看的皮囊千篇一律，有趣的灵魂万里挑一 .” When translated, it means that beauty is everywhere, but a truly intriguing and fascinating soul is the harder of the two to find. And also the English proverbs that say, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” So yes, this song is indeed very interesting and fun to listen to, I’ll keep it in my playlists. Thank you, haha.