Billy Connolly "Irish Heartbeat"

We have a show called "The Hot Seat" and every week a different DJ hosts the show. Sometimes it's a station Jock. Sometimes it's a guest.

Last week we taped a show with Friend is Robert Kidd, an Irishman living in Scotland. His wife Heather made a donation to Friends of mvyradio to host a full hour, and we had him in during a Stateside visit.

The last song of his set is from Billy Connolly. I know Connolly as a comedian, occasional actor and sure-fire Talk Show guest. But Robert explained that he started off his career as a musician.

As part of a TV special, Connolly sang Van Morrison's "Irish Heartbeat," and that's how Robert ended his hour.

Robert kind of smiled at me when the bagpipes kicked in. I don't know if he was curious about my American reaction to their sound, or if he felt like it was a Celtic cliche, or if he was just happy to have successfully completed his hour.

But the sound did take me back.

I lived in the Virginia Highlands for much of the 90s. It is called the Highlands, in part because of it's strong cultural heritage, having been settled by Scots and Irish and English.

It's also referred to as the Highlands, because, well, there are a lot of hills.

I lived on the side of one.

And across the way, probably a full mile by car, on another hillside, facing our place, was the local arts center.

It was there, that some of those cultural traditions continued.

One night a week, someone at the arts center gave bagpipe lessons.

Now I'm not one of those folks who hates the bagpipes. It's a strong sound for sure. But when done right, it's not unpleasant.

But the sound of people learning bagpipes? A whole classroom full of them?

Yikes.

Every Tuesday night, the sound of skronking, out-of-sync, not-in-tune bagpipes flew, unhindered, from the hillside across the way right into my bedroom window.

Well, I'll tell you this, it didn't make me long for the green grass of Ireland . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.