Henry's Songbook

Sell we gaily on we go
Down at heel so we must blow
Hills and islands row on row
All for the sake of money

Her father died, the land was sold, Marie tried to keep a hold
Scottish law and foreign gold - cancel Marie's wedding

All you need for stream and ben ... is Deutschmark, Guilder, Franc or Yen
Then ... sell it on again for the sake of money

Buy a castle, buy a glen, sitting tenants "no prob-lem"
Highland clearances again for the sake of money

Plenty fish to fill the creels, plenty agents fixing deals
Lawyers dancing jigs and reels for the sake of money

Other countries you will find, it's not allowed but never mind
Here's our land for auld lang syne, all it takes is money

You think you're safe - you spoke too soon; they've seen the film, they've hummed the tune
'Braveheart' meets 'Brigadoon', all for the sake of money

Tune Mairi's Wedding (Lewis Bridal Song)

[1997:] All nationalities have been made welcome in the Scottish Highlands but not the speculative absentee landlords. (Notes McCalmans, 'High Ground')

[1996:] Providing they have the cash, anyone can buy land in Scotland and do what they want with it. Or nothing at all. [...] Any day now those left on the remote Knoydart Estate may know the identity of their third absentee landlord in 10 years. In November it was sold by a subsidiary of the jute firm, Titaghur, whose chairman, Reg Brealey, had planned a kind of Outward Bound school for teenage inner-city ne'er-do-wells on its historic acres. He bought the remaining 17,000 acres from Surrey businessman Phillip Rhodes, who had whittled the estate down from 160,000 acres by selling off prime blocks of land. The new owners [...] are the anonymous Kinloch Investment Company. The estate, which once supported hundreds, now provides work for 50 people. [...] As the commentator John Robertson put it: 'Some legislatures have made the right of the people superior to the chief. British law makers made the right of the chief everything and those of his followers nothing.' In the 150 years since he wrote that, little has changed. (Ron McKay, Observer, 3 March)