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The Scottish Breakaway

Date 31 August 1960
Track ID 59218
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1960.245.A5

Original Tape ID

SA1960.245

Summary

Satirical Scottish republican song mocking the British royal family for the events surrounding the relationships of Princess Margaret, who was not allowed to marry [Captain] Peter Townshend. Its chorus complains about the naming of Queen Elizabeth as Elizabeth II, as there has never been an Elizabeth I of Scotland.

Item Notes

5 verses with chorus after each, with guitar accompaniment and singing along by the company. Written by Thurso Berwick (pseudonym of Morris Blythman, Glasgow schoolteacher), and first published in 'The Rebels Ceilidh Song Book' (Bo'ness Rebels Literary Society, c. 1951, p. 23). Further topical verses seem to have been added at various points, with a longer version in the 1963 edition (there were many editions of the song book). Sung (quite deliberately given its controversial nature) to the tune of 'The Sash'.

See also:
'The People's Past' (ed. E. J. Cowan, 1980) pp. 175-176

Item Subject/Person

Queen Elizabeth II; Princess Margaret

Recording Location

County - Midlothian

Parish - Edinburgh

Village/Place - Edinburgh

Language

Scots

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good