01x03 - Song & Dance

[bunniefuu]

[Sam humming

"The Skye Boat Song"]

♪

Don't.

[continues humming]

Stop.

Yes?

[humming "The Skye Boat Song"]

♪

[vocalizing]

♪

-[Graham] Carry the lad ♪

-[Sam] Row!

[Graham]

That's born to be king ♪

[Sam] Faster!

[both] Over the sea to Skye ♪

[Graham]

We're going the wrong way.

[upbeat fiddle music plays]

♪

[bright flute music plays]

♪

[Graham] Here we are on our way

to begin the next chapter.

Um, song and dance.

Song and dance, which is

a really big part

of Scottish culture.

♪

Scotland:

there is perhaps

no other country

where music has played

such an important role,

from celebration to battle

and everything in between.

Music and the dances

that follow

are forever entwined

in the nation's history.

And of course,

there is one instrument

that is synonymous

with Scottish music:

the bagpipe.

The pipes are a part

of everything,

from Highland dancing

to marching bands

and even traditional

folk parties

like ceilidhs.

There is a musical tradition

that runs deep in Scotland,

as song and dance

are how Highlanders

passed on their history

and culture.

We can truly feel it

in the voices,

the movement,

and the passion of the people

who carry on

that legacy today.

[solemn bagpipe music plays]

We've set up camp

in the heart of the Highlands,

Glencoe.

We'll be joined

by one of the people

keeping traditional

Scottish music alive,

Gillebride MacMillan,

who plays Gwyllyn the Bard

inOutlander.

[singing in Gaelic]

♪

-Gillebride.

-[Gillebride] Hello, my friend.

Not a bad clearing

you have here.

-How are you, sir?

-Not bad. Yourself?

Excuse me. My mouth's full.

-How you doing?

-How are you?

I'm just full

of Sam's porridge.

[grunts]

-Um

-Looks good.

[Sam] Please join us.

Take a seat.

So you're a Gaelic speaker.

I am.

Gaelic's my first language.

Yes, I had no English

before I went to school.

And people still speak Gaelic

in Scotland.

We see a lot of the road signs

are in Gaelic.

There are about 70,000

Gaelic speakers

here in Scotland.

Is it the first language

of the western isles?

It is, yeah.

So when I was growing up,

it would be the first language

of about 90% of the population.

It's very much alive

and kicking.

And then how it lives on,

though,

is through storytelling,

isn't it?

You must yourself hold

a lot of

a lot of stories and songs.

Yes, I suppose I've got

any song for any occasion.

Well, then we have an occasion.

Give us a song.

[plaintive music plays]

[Gillebride singing in Gaelic]

♪

[Sam and Graham join in]

♪

[upbeat music plays]

[Graham] So curious.

Were you much

of a musical theater guy

in your younger days,

when you started out?

Were you doing a lot

of singing and dancing?

-No.

-No, none?

-No, I have to admit--

-No musicals, no?

No, no, I have to admit

that I can't sing or dance.

I need help

musically speaking.

Well, I-I've had a terrible

history with musicals,

and I did sing in Outlander.

-[exhales heavily]

-Uh, that was--

it-it had a mixed reception.

Yeah.

"The Maid Get to the Mill

by Nicht."

Oh, God, here we go.

No, I'm not gonna sing it.

She would get

the corn ground ♪

[men] Mill and multure free ♪

Oot and cam'

the miller's lad ♪

Hey, hey, sae wonton ♪

-Yes, you know the one.

-Yeah.

If you ever travel the world

-Mm.

-no matter what country

you go to,

I-I always seem to encounter

bagpipes somewhere,

-in the most random places.

-Yes, absolutely.

I was--I remember Santa Monica

in-in Los Angeles,

and I remember hearing

-just on the wind

-Yeah.

the call of the bagpipes.

Some people

really do not like them at all.

Well, I think we're gonna

convert a lot of people,

because they are magnificent.

We're gonna meet

fabulous Iain MacGillivray,

-and he's such a great piper.

-Isn't he?

Such a wonderful ambassador

for piping and for Scotland

and for his clan.

Is he not the youngest

chief or commander--

-Clan-clan chief.

-Clan chief, yes.

And we're gonna meet him

at Doune Castle.

Ah, which holds

very, very strong memories

Very good memories

-[Graham] for both of us.

-[Sam] ..for both of us.

[Graham]

If those walls could speak

-This is Doune Castle.

-Yes, it is, but

but is it Doune Castle?

It's actually Castle Leoch.

Castle Leoch, your-your home.

My home, exactly.

That was my room

at the top there.

Yeah, it's-yeah, it's the one

that's been knocked off.

Thanks.

[Sam] But we're here to meet

this fantastic piper,

Iain MacGillivray.

-[Graham] Iain.

-Nice to meet you gentlemen.

-How you doing, Graham?

-[Graham] Ah.

[Sam] Good to see you.

Now, tell us about the pipes,

though.

[somber bagpipe music playing]

[Iain] It's one of the most

ancient forms of music

in all of Europe

and especially in Scotland.

[Sam] And this is a big part

of, obviously,

Scottish culture as well.

It's a, you know,

quite iconic instrument

and also was, uh, um,

was an instrument of w*r.

It became outlawed,

or at least,

you weren't allowed to use it

unless it was

part of the military;

is that right?

[Iain]

I mean, the pipers were there

to kind of drum the spirit,

and it was meant to put fear

into the enemies.

-Totally.

-A lot of these pipers

would've been taken

to the b*ttlefield,

and they would've marched

into battle.

And he would've piped

for a bit,

and then he would've handed

the pipes to

whoever, and then

[Sam] "You hold these;

I'm gonna go fight them."

"I don't--

I hold them the last time.

I'm not gonna hold them

this time."

When the British Empire

started to spread,

they used the Scots

on the front line of battle.

[Graham] Mm-hmm, yeah.

[Iain] And rather

than just being a lone piper,

it became an orchestral set

of bagpipes and drums,

so multiple pipers,

multiple drummers.

[Graham] Mm.

[Iain] And then suddenly,

you come

to this First World w*r.

-Pipes are still being used.

-[Graham] Yes.

[Iain] Scots regiments

are still in kilts.

-Yes, the marching bands.

-Then you get

to the Second World w*r

and this amazing story

of Bill Millin.

A piper stormed

the beaches of Normandy

playing his pipes,

hurling himself

-across the landing craft--

-[Sam] Yeah, yeah.

The Germans thought

he was crazy.

They couldn't believe a piper--

I love it.

And he marched up and down

for, like, half an hour.

Yeah, yeah.

And the Germans

stopped sh**ting at him

because they couldn't believe

that anybody would be

this insane.

[Iain] It-it's quite a

remarkable story, that, yeah.

-I mean, it's--

-Ah, it's fantastic.

That-that-that symbolizes

literally the essence

of bagpiping

in Scottish music

as well as on the b*ttlefield.

Music is so embedded

in the culture.

It's in your blood.

It's in your blood.

It's-it's in our genes.

That's gonna live with us

with the rest of our days,

-and I'm-I'm so proud of that.

-[Graham] That's right.

You've got a little bit

of a surprise as well

for Graham.

Well, one

of your great-relatives

is Simon McTavish

of the North West Company

fur trade in Canada.

-Right.

-Well, one of our ancestors,

Willie McGillivray,

was his uncle,

so we are distantly related

-Oh, my God.

-which is pretty amazing.

That's fantastic.

Ah!

This is it, brothers in arms.

[Graham] Brother.

Full circle. Amazing.

Thank you for telling me that.

That's really wonderful.

We wanna hear you

play something for us.

Would you mind?

[Iain] It'd be a pleasure.

[playing jaunty bagpipe music]

♪

[music stops]

[applause]

[upbeat music plays]

♪

[Graham] You know, it was really

moving to hear,

Iain play "The Black Bear,"

you know?

It-it was my father's

favorite pipe tune.

They always make me cry a bit,

you know, the bagpipes.

[Sam] Now that we've learned

a bit about Scottish music,

I think it's time to put

our dancing skills

to the test.

Have you done

sword dancing before?

I mean, obviously,

I was very, very, very good

when I was younger.

It's been a few years

since I've, uh,

put on the pumps.

-Right, yeah.

-Um

Have you hung up

your swords since?

Well, yes, and then

there was the ballet years

Ah, yes.

when I danced

with the Bolshoi.

Yes, Swan Lake,was it?

Yes, yes.

Sugar Plum Fairy,

I can imagine.

Yes, you've never seen a dying

swan like it, wouldn't you.

I would pay good money

to see you onstage,

because I have seen you dance.

I've got rhythm ♪

I've got music ♪

I've seen you dance.

You have rhythm.

That's for sure.

Who could ask

for anything more? ♪

[crowd cheering]

[Sam] You've got hips as well.

[somber bagpipe music playing]

We're gonna meet

a champion Highland dancer,

who's gonna teach us

the Scottish sword dance.

Cerys Jones, what a pleasure.

-I'm Graham.

-Nice to meet you.

Cerys, I'm Sam.

I'm Graham.

And you are

a Highland dancer, Cerys.

Yeah.

[upbeat music plays]

[Sam] So these are

traditional dances.

Do they date back, uh,

many years?

[Cerys] Yeah.

Originally,

it was for soldiers

to get fit

for going into battle.

[Graham]

What an interesting way

-of getting fit, though.

-Go dance.

[Cerys] The soldiers

would dance the swords

before they went into battle.

If they didn't touch

the sword,

they were gonna win.

If they touched the sword,

they were gonna be injured.

And if they kicked it,

they were gonna die

in that battle.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

So if you kick the sword

You would die in the battle.

It's interesting;

actually, I did have to do

a-a dance in Outlander,

and it was a sort of variation

of the Highland fling

with swords.

♪

You know, it was quite hard

'cause we had

these big boots on,

but, um, I would love to see,

actually,

-how a professional does it.

-Yeah, okay.

[Sam] Show us what to do.

-[Cerys] Okay.

-[Sam] Ah, that is sharp.

Wow, you're not mucking about,

are you?

Yet again, something

I never quite imagined

I'd ever be doing, but

I'm sorry for whatever

[Graham] You are about

to witness.

you're about to see.

Uh, you might not be able

to wipe it from your memory.

[Cerys laughs]

And so is this-is this

a complicated step

that we're gonna learn, or

This shouldn't be

too complicated.

It's a traditional step,

and usually,

the four-, five-,

and six-year-old dancers

would be competing in this one.

Mm, good luck with that, mate.

Right.

-Okay, so--

-Okay, so literally,

-tiny children do this.

-Yeah.

So the very first thing:

you're gonna do two

pas de basque,

which is nice and simple.

It's just jump in and beat,

jump in and beat.

[Graham] Okay, you'll have

to show me that again.

So-so lift up

that back foot up and down.

-[Sam] And that goes--

-So you're standing on

you're standing on this foot?

Yeah, right up on the toes

of it.

-That's it.

-[Sam] Yeah.

And then you jump

over the other side

of the sword

and change your feet

and then lift the back one

up and down again.

-[Graham] Mm.

-Okay, so we're gonna go

-beat

-[Sam] Oh.

-[Cerys] two, beat.

-[Sam] Oh, God.

Oh, I'm absolute ba*ls-up,

completely awful.

Yeah.

So you jump like that?

That's it,

and then over the other side

and then the back leg.

-[Sam] Right, what's next?

-So--

-I've kicked the sword!

-Ah, you're gonna die

-in battle.

-I'm going to die!

-You're gonna die.

-I'm gonna die.

So you can just imagine them

gathered around the fire.

-Ah!

-"Ah, go on, McTavish.

"Show them--oh, dear.

-Oh, dear, he's gonna die."

-[Sam] McTavish is dead.

Okay, nice and easy,

the next part.

You're gonna jump and point

your foot out to the side.

Aye, that way.

Oh, sorry.

You just jump across.

-Yeah, that's it.

-I like that.

[Cerys] Then it goes

over the way,

so it's just

out, in, over, in.

-[Sam] Out

-[Cerys] Uh, yeah.

[Cerys and Sam] In, over, in.

That's it.

[Sam]

You managed not to--oh, God.

[laughs] Wounded!

-Sorry, that was really petty.

-Not dead yet.

-Sorry.

-Right.

Right, well, start the music,

and, uh, let's do it, shall we?

[Graham] What, we're doing it

to music?

Okay, bow,

rise up on your feet,

and go.

[somber bagpipe music plays]

♪

And turn over--that's it.

[Graham laughs] Ah, no!

♪

Oh, no, I've got my back

to you now.

I can't see anything!

[Sam laughs]

Ah, it's an easy one.

You can pick it up.

Oh, oh, and I've

k*lled myself again!

Well done. Oh.

Oh! Well done? Are you kidding?

Sorry. I'm so sorry.

-[Sam] Three deaths

-You did really well.

to one death.

That was, uh, fantastic.

Thought I would be much better

than that.

Thank you so much

for teaching us that.

It's really difficult.

I think the bow went well.

[Sam]

The bow was good, wasn't it?

-The bow was brilliant.

-[Sam] That's--

I was really happy

with the bow.

[Sam] I felt pretty confident,

yeah.

Cerys, thank you so much.

I think I'd rather stick

to wielding swords

than dancing over them.

There's the Highland fling,

and then there was

the Highland fiasco,

which I did, uh

-Mm.

-which I do apologize for.

-I'm so sorry.

-Would he get any points

for freestyle?

-Probably not, but

-[Sam] Okay.

I'm gonna say he's done

pretty good.

-You're very kind.

-[Graham] You are very kind.

Thank you so much

for showing us this.

[laughs]

[jaunty music plays]

♪

[Sam with American accent]

"I love Scotland."

"Okay, Fred." "Hmm."

That was very good.

I like that.

"Okay, Barney."

Wow, I'm with Fred Flintstone.

It's amazing;

I expect to look down

and see your feet just sort of

pedaling underneath the car.

[trilling]

Wilma!

-I loved that show so much.

-[normally] So did I.

So did I. It was brilliant.

When you're

with the Flintstones ♪

[both] Have

a yabba-dabba-doo time ♪

We'll have a day old-- ♪

We'll-we'll have a--

"g*y old time"?

-Is it "a g*y old time"?

-I don't know.

[dramatic music plays]

Where are we off to now?

[Graham] We've got

the marching band

that we're joining

at Calton Hill

in Edinburgh.

There is

one of the largest tattoos

held at Edinburgh Castle.

[with American accent]

Sam, what is a tattoo?

A tattoo, Mr. McTavish,

is a, I guess,

what, a celebration of military

tradition and music?

[Graham] Yeah, I think that's

a very good description.

[Sam] And they have mass bands

from different regiments

playing,

uh, and it really is

a dramatic, wonderful sight.

[normally] It's like

the sort of Soviet display

of armaments.

With bagpipes instead.

-With bagpipes.

-Yeah.

When we meet them,

I really wanna, uh--

we need to be respectful.

You know, getting a place

in a marching band

is-is something

that people work towards

-for-for many years.

-Yeah, well, I-I--

we will take it-we'll take it

very seriously.

Yeah, I just--

you know, I just wanna--

Just don't mess around,

all right?

[bagpipes playing march]

♪

[pipers murmuring]

[Sam] Uh

okay, guys, thanks, guys.

-Bye.

-[pipers laugh]

[gentle music plays]

♪

-Yes, okay, we've stopped now.

-Oh.

You don't need

to keep doing it.

-Yeah, sorry.

-Yeah, listen.

Apologies, by the way,

is for what you witnessed

just now

-[laughs]

-[Graham] when Sam was

getting a bit carried away

with the, uh

The-the stick thing.

W--[sighs] Please don't call it

a stick thing.

I think it needs, like,

more glitter and feathers

-and things.

-No, no, it really doesn't.

[Sam] Gentlemen, you're from

the Glencorse Pipe Band.

-That's right.

-Yeah.

And, um, I believe

you're gonna play a-a song

for us now; is that right?

Yes.

Which ones are you gonna play?

It's called "Scotland For Me."

-That could be--

-If you need, uh,

any more members, we're-we're

more than happy to--

If you're short

of a big bass drummer

-Or one of these guys.

-I'll give you my number.

Gentlemen, we'll leave you

to it, and, uh

Yeah, we're looking forward

to it.

-Okay.

-we'll be over there.

-Yes, out of your way.

-[Pete] Thanks, guys.

Thanks very much, guys.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

[Tam] Ready, quick march.

[snare drum flourishes]

[playing somber bagpipe music]

♪

[music stops]

All right, band, pipe down.

[sweeping big band music plays]

♪

-[dull bumping]

-Oh.

-Oh.

-Oh, God.

This, uh, camper van

has a tail now.

I think it's a large piece

of bog myrtle

that is hanging

out the back of it,

and in the camera,

it looks like we have

a-a bushy tail.

So it's the--it's bog myrtle

hanging out the back

to protect you from midges.

That's right.

Maybe we should rename

this camper van Bog Myrtle.

Bog Myrtle.

Bog Myrtle and the boys.

You know, we do

a lot of driving, and, um,

it doesn't get boring

or tedious

because I feel like I have

just a man

of many, many voices.

[with high-pitched voice]

When you first saw me naked,

what were you thinking,

and what are you thinking now?

[normally]

I really think my favorite

[with Southern American accent]

is Lil' Red.

I call him Lil' Red

'cause he has a barn, you know?

He likes to-he likes to live

in the barn.

Are you gonna do this

the whole way there?

Listen, son,

I don't know, uh,

where in Scotch-land

we're going now, but so far,

I've gotta say,

there's a lot of skirts.

I don't like

to wear those skirts.

I wear men's pants.

I like to let the fly open

just to let the air in,

but I think what you do

is just excessive.

Well, I think you'll find

that the, uh,

kilt is very airy.

A lot of ventilation.

When I see you in one of them,

I wanna run the other way.

I'll be running after you.

♪

[Graham, normally]

Where are we off to now?

We're gonna round it off

with a ceilidh.

Aye.

You've been to a few ceilidhs,

haven't you?

I've been to a few ceilidhs.

Now, for those people

that don't know,

a ceilidh is usually

a meeting of people

where they sing

and play music.

[Graham] Yeah.

Uh, it's a bit

of a gathering, really.

Yes. I went to one

on the Isle of Mull,

a New Year's ceilidh.

-Oh, wow.

-And it was

-it was a madhouse.

-Yeah.

They were six deep at the bar

at seven o'clock

in the evening,

and they weren't even t-getting

the whisky in glasses.

They were just drinking it

straight from the bottle.

-Ah.

-If I must

may as well join in.

Ooh! [laughs]

[claps]

Now, that's more in the spirit.

[lively music plays]

[Sam] We're here

at Borthwick Castle,

just outside of Edinburgh.

We are with, uh, Finlay Lockie,

and, uh, we're at

our own ceilidh.

We have at that,

and your sporran's all aquiver.

I can see it's ready

to-ready to dance.

I'm feeling

quite sprightly myself.

[Graham] So please, Finlay,

tell us a little bit

about the history

of ceilidh dancing.

The essence of a ceilidh,

going back

really into the mists

of prehistory,

was a gathering of villages.

So it was a-a big party

in which everybody took place.

But a lot of the dances

that are best known,

like the Reel

of the 51st Division,

was actually invented

by a prisoner of w*r

in one of the German

prisoner of w*r camps

during the Second World w*r.

-Right.

-[Finlay] And part of the idea

was that they would dance

in order to stay warm,

-because it was freezing.

-Yes.

[Finlay] But the dance

is rather beautiful

because part of it involves

forming a Saint Andrew's cross

across the dance,

and that was meant to be

an-a gesture of defiance

-[Sam and Graham] Right.

-a symbol of Scotland

in adversity of being

in a German w*r.

[Sam] That's fascinating.

Because it really is part

of our-our-our--

sort of our heritage

and our culture, this.

I mean, I--at school, you know,

I remember being dragged along

to the school hall

and being forced

to pick a partner,

and I hated--

I absolutely hated it.

-Really?

-Now I cannot wait

to get to a ceilidh.

And it really is just an excuse

for a good old party.

-[Graham] Yeah.

-It is, and there's

absolutely no room for

British or Scottish reserve.

It just has to go out

to the wind, doesn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-You've got to throw yourself

into it with all your heart.

I can't--I cannot wait

to get going.

Right, so let's-let's get

stuck in.

Well, we look forward

to that very much.

Now, is--am I right in thinking

that Sophie's going

to teach you to

[Sam] Is Sophie gonna teach us?

[upbeat music plays]

♪

[Sophie] Okay, guys,

I'm gonna teach you

the Dashing White Sergeant.

So it could be two men,

one woman

-Oh, right.

-Two men, one woman.

or two women, one man.

-Two women, one man?

-[Sam] Oh, even better.

What you do is,

you join hands

-We're joining hands?

-in a circle.

And you would take

eight steps to the left,

trying to do eight steps,

and then you go

eight steps to the right.

-Uh-huh.

-As the leader in the middle

-You're the leader.

-I'm the leader.

I turn to my right.

-Ah.

-Yes? And I turn to my left?

-And you turn to your left.

-Yes.

And then we

Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo ♪

Oh, you're doing a do-si-do.

Bit of a do-si-do

to one another.

And is this the way

you do the do-si-do,

or is this kind of freestyle?

[Sophie] I'm making it

a bit of a

[Sam] I think you can

freestyle, can't you?

freestyle. That's perfect.

-Oh, there it is.

-Too much?

-[laughs]

-[Sam] No, more, more, more.

It's okay. I won't do it.

And then we clap,

and then we take

each other's hands,

and we spin.

What am I doing

while you're doing that?

-You're

-Looking awkward?

looking awkward.

-Oh, okay, I can do that.

-Exactly,

you're looking awkward

and smiling.

-Sort of like a--

-It's gonna go

so horribly wrong.

And so we take

each other's hands,

and we step forwards,

one, two, three.

One, two, three.

-Stamp, stamp.

-[Graham and Sam] Stamp, stamp.

-Back.

-Two, three.

Clap, clap, clap,

and then we go forwards

as a three,

holding hands,

and we duck under

[Sam] Oh, God.

the group that's coming

towards us.

[Graham] What could possibly

go wrong?

-I think we've got it, right?

-What could possibly go wrong?

-I think we've got it.

-Let's dance.

[Graham] Come on.

Come on in!

[Graham] Come on in.

Good luck, everybody.

[jaunty music plays]

-Whoo!

-[Sophie] Whoo! Eight.

♪

[Sam] Eight.

One, two, three four,

five, six, seven, eight.

One.

-I go right. They go--

-Hey!

♪

I go right. I go right.

♪

-[grunts]

-[Sophie whoops]

♪

Oh, yes, I bowed

-when I should have not.

-Ah!

♪

Ah, every time.

♪

Oh!

♪

[Graham] Whoo!

[growls]

♪

We got it now.

♪

Oh, hey!

My shoelace!

[Graham] I know. Mine too!

Mine too!

♪

[Sam] Oh-h*!

♪

Carry on without me! Just go!

♪

Hey! Ah!

♪

Whoo!

♪

Oh, ah!

Ah! Ah!

Whoo!

Yes!

-Yee-hoo!

-No, no more!

No more.

-[panting]

-[Graham] I know.

I came completely undone.

Completely undone.

-Look at that.

-[Sam] Oh, that's the way

to do it.

[gentle music plays]

♪

[exhales heavily]

♪

[Sam] Hair of the dog.

Here's to Scotland.

To the music.

Dancing

-with

-Yeah.

-With--yeah.

-I don't know, everyone.

♪

[easy listening music plays]

I used to sing "Greensleeves."

[vocalizing]

Greensleeves

and a shiny head, he-- ♪

[vocalizing]

Greensleeves ♪

Blah, blah, blah, and, um--

And a bald head ♪

Bald head, no, there's no line

about bald head.

There's no line about--

But you know who wrote

"Greensleeves"?

-Who wrote it?

-Okay, let's see if you can--

Do you have any idea?

Um

If you have no idea,

you will never guess.

Elton John.

[laughs]

Yes, one of his lesser-known

tracks.

Uh, no, Henry VIII.

-He wrote it?

-Henry VIII wrote--

he-he wrote it to Anne Boleyn.

Obviously, he didn't sing it

to her

just before she had

her head cut off.

♪