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The John Maclean March

from Bring out the Banners by Paul 'Bolshie' Brown

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about

I love the buoyant triumphalism of this song. I first heard it sung by Dick Gaughan, but it was the rocked-up version of Tonight at Noon that made me listen to it again.
Maclean was a schoolteacher and Marxist educator. This song celebrates his triumphal return from one of his stints in prison for opposing the WWI.
For more on John Maclean see:
sites.scran.ac.uk/redclyde/redclyde/docs/rcpeojohnMaclean.htm
www.marxists.org/archive/Maclean/index.htm
The Baritone Uke I’m playing on this track was made by Barebones Folk Instruments: barebonesfolkinstruments.com

lyrics

Hey, mac, did ye see him as he cam doun by Gorgie
Awa owre the Lammerlaw an north o the Tay?
Yon man is comin an the hail toun is turnin out
We're aa shair he'll win back tae Glesca the day
The jiners an hauders-on are merchin fae Clydebank
Come on nou an hear him he'll be owre thrang tae bide
Turn out Jock an Jimmie, leave yer cranes an yer muckle gantries
Great John Maclean's comin hame tae the Clyde.
Argyll St and London Road's the route that we're merchin
The lauds frae the Broomielaw are here, tae a man!
Hey Neil, whaur's yer hauderums, ye big Heilan teuchtar
Get yer pipes, mate, an merch at the heid o the clan
Hullo, Pat Malone, shair A knew ye'd be here, so,
The red an the green, laud, we'll wear side by side
Gorbals is his the day an Glesca belangs tae him
Nou great John Maclean's comin hame tae the Clyde.
Forward tae Glesca Green we'll merch in guid order
Will grips his banner weill, that boy isnae blate!
Aye, weill, man, thair's Johnnie nou, that's him thair the bonnie fechter
Lenin's his feir, laud, and Liebknecht's his mate
Tak tent whan he's speakin for thae'll mind whit he said here
In Glesca, our city, an the hail warl besides
Och man the scarlet's bonnie, here's tae ye Heilan Shonie
Great John Maclean's comin hame tae the Clyde.
Aye weill, whan it's feenisht A'll awa back tae Springburn
Come hame tae yer tea, John, we'll sune hae ye fed
It's hard wark the speakin, och, A'm shair he'll be tired the nicht
A'll sleep on the flair, mac, an gie John the bed
The hail city's quiet nou, it kens that he's restin
At hame wi's Glesca freens, thair fame an thair pride
The red will be worn, ma lauds, an Scotlan will merch again
Nou great John Maclean has come hame tae the Clyde.

credits

from Bring out the Banners, released March 11, 2019
Copyright – Hamish Henderson |Arranged – Paul Brown, Quintin Campbell and Ian Bartlett | Mandolin – Quintin Campbell | Harmonica – Ian Bartlett | Baritone ukulele and vocals – Paul Brown

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Paul 'Bolshie' Brown Auckland, New Zealand

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