A self-imposed Scottish Childhood memoir in song recorded in Scotland and accompanied by some of Scotland's best musicians.

14 MP3 Songs
WORLD: Celtic, KIDS/FAMILY: General Children's Music



Details:
Liner Notes for Mrs. Paterson's Daughter: A Note of Thanks and Tribute:

I have always been called a wee blether so I will blether away. For those of you who know me but donât know Scottish slang youâll guess what blether means soon enough.
Why Mrs Patersonâs Daughter? Believe it or not you donât have to wear a kilt; as striking as it may look, to be a Scot. Having lived in England for a while, it was confirmed only when I moved to America - once a Scot, always a Scot. One night while unable to sleep, about 10 years ago, at the Grandfather Mountain Scottish Games, South Carolina, where I was scheduled to perform, thinking about the thousands of people who would be expecting authentic Scottish music to remind them of their heritage, I felt compelled to reminisce and instantly compose songs of my childhood in Glasgow, Scotland. In those days, as I remember it, to be a wee Scot you had to be content with new clothes only at Christmas, to walk or ride double decker buses everywhere and to play in the streets rather than watch telly. But most of all, you had to have an enduring spirit, a great sense of humor and a love of music to compensate for those formidable grey skies. and left-over Victorian rules.
Most of the songs stayed on a shelf but neâer forgotten. Recently when I knew I was going on a visit to Scotland I decided it was time to resurrect them. I knew there was only one person who could accomplish what I wished and that was Ian Bruce. He may have forgotten but he resisted it many years ago before he marvellously produced my last cd âLassie Wiâ the Lint-white Locks,â but now I was on a mission and so was he. Ianâs production skills match his tremendous voice, which still gives me shivers even on harmonies, and his inspiration as we created some of the lyrics together made the memories and music much more rich. Thanks Ian â your talent is unique. I would also like to thank a good friend for years and a talented musician and songwriter from London, with whom I performed, Bob Gillman, who gave me the title Mrs Patersonâs Daughter, to which he did write a song that inspired me to write my own title track. How can you lose with good friends who are musicians, producers and chefs? Thanks to Tony Borthwick, Michelin award winner for his famed restaurant The Plumed Horse, formerly in Castle Douglas now in Leith where my Grandmother was born, for his great kindness and hospitality during our recording visit in Scotland. Finally, a special thanks to Sarah Gibb, my niece in Glasgow, for singing and providing real live skipping as we recorded outside in the wet wind and cold amongst bleeting sheep, for the title track Mrs Patersonâs Daughter, and to our family in Glasgow for their constant encouragement. Bill, my husband was also supposed to be on the team but he got addicted to watching Billiards on Ianâs telly. Back in the U.S.A., thanks to Bill Worthington and Ed Friend for their generous and insightful contributions to the cd cover art work.
This cd is dedicated to Mrs Paterson, who passed away suddenly in 1988. She marched me to the fish market on many a cold morning, took me to school on double deckers where I raised havoc from motion sickness to put it politely â refer to the song for details, and made me laugh, cry and sing. She never truly reaped the full benefits of her courageous and fun-loving spirit but I did. And who am I??? Mrs. Patersonâs daughter â a Glasgow bairn.

Notes from Ian Bruce - producer and musician.

This is my second production for Christina (Chris). The first "Lassie Wi' The Lintwhite Locks" was a simple matter of selecting good Scots' songs, hiring in some of Scotland's best folk musicians, applying some musical knowhow, a dod of common sense and Chris' splendid voice. The result was fabulous and we can now report that it was extremely well received. I'm sure if that were not the case then she may not have asked me on board this project. For that reason alone it was good to be considered again. Confidence that we would again achieve a high end result and the knowledge that we would have a load of fun doing so brought my quick agreement to be involved.
Only then did she hit me with the big one. It's a children's CD!!!!
Although I have recorded for kids before I was a little dubious when I was told the songs are in a very raw state and would I help to complete some of them. "OK!" I said. "Come to Scotland and let me hear them." Scepticism soon dissolved. We were on a roll in no time.
We decided that this would be a simpler production than our last collaboration so I would do most of the background instruments myself with some guitar work from Chris. However we brought in Marc Duff and Sháun Blandford for the main lead instrumentals percussion and bass. In other words - the difficult bits. (And there is some nifty stuff on this CD.)
The material is fairly obviously aimed at kids.......or is it?
I don't know many Scots (specifically Glaswegians) who don't get shivers up their backs when they remember, as a kid, riding the double decker buses or walking along Broomielaw amid the seagull cries and stench of seafood. The tenements too are all imposing to the "Wegie" whether or not they lived in them. Everybody loves Nessie. When was she ever for youngsters alone? Na...actually this is a CD which can be appreciated by all ages. The only folks who won't like it are those who refuse to. I say "Well done us.
I think you'll agree. If you don't you're a dirty wee rascal..NA NA NA NA NA! (You will know the tune.)
Ian Bruce