Wee Magic Stane
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1954.73.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
A humorous song about the removal of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey, and the subsequent panic its disappearance caused. The Dean of Westminster was flustered by the theft of his wee magic stone and finally decided to sculpt a replica and pass it off as the real thing. When the reivers [thieves] found out, they produced a flood of "real" Stones, but accidentally lost the genuine Stone amongst them. The song ends by telling the listener that if he comes upon a stone with a ring in it, he can appoint himself king, and no one will able to contest his claim.
John McEvoy explains that he wrote the song after talking to Morris Blythman shortly after the Stone of Destiny had been taken from Westminster. There was to be a ceilidh at which many recently composed songs about the affair were to be sung, and John was invited. He wrote the song for the ceilidh and finished the last few verses while on his way there by train.
Item Notes
9 verses of 4 lines with a vocable refrain of 1 line between verses. Sung to a variant of the melody of 'The Ould Orange Flute' (derived from 'Vilikens and his Dinah'). Company join in with refrain. Composed by John MacEvoy in 1951.
This song refers to the removal of 'The Stone of Destiny' from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1950 by a quartet of Scottish students, who later transported the relic back to Scotland; the Stone, or perhaps a facsimile, was 'recovered' by police in time for the coronation.
See:
'101 Scottish Songs' (N. Buchan, 1962) pp. 38-39
'Rebel Ceilidh Song Book '67' (Glasgow Song Guild, 1966) p. 18
'The Rebels Ceilidh Song Book' (Bo'ness Rebels Literary Society, 1951) pp. 10-11
Language
English, Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair