Susannes Folksong-Notizen
[1991:] One of Europe's most enduring myths tells of a land behind the North Wind, and in some versions of the story, the land is Scotland. In terms of Scotland's people, the idea is certainly credible - over the centuries they seem to have been prey to a perpetual outward force, pushing them to all parts of the globe. If it's a wind, then it's one that has many names, some harsh - poverty and persecution - and some hopeful - betterment, restlessness, a desire to know what's over the next hill, the next ocean. But it's a complex wind as well, perplexing, for the further the Scots are blown from home, the more that home seems to exert its pull on them - and that's a paradox which has become part of our national character; anyone who wants to understand Scotland today must look at the lives of the Scots abroad, past and present. And nowhere have these lives had more impact than across the Atlantic. (Notes Brian McNeill, 'The Back o' the North Wind')
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