Like so many others who were against Tony Blair’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003, I grew increasingly horrified by the carnage as the war and occupation lurched on, amid revelations of the lies and deceit on which the whole escapade was based. One day a news report stated that one hundred British, and a thousand US, soldiers had been killed there (it would go on to be many more); along with the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who had by then died in the conflict, it was hard to take in. Numbers lost in war can begin to feel meaninglessly vast but each one is a father, partner, sister, child; a life lost, and for what? It got me thinking of Eric Bogle’s heart-rending and beautiful WW1 song, ‘The Green Fields Of France’, also known as ‘No Man’s Land’, and left me wondering what has really changed since Bogle’s Private Willie McBride died in 1916.
The nature of warfare has undoubtably changed but the system that enables politicians with vested interests to send young men and women to fight in foreign lands, in the name of King and Country (or other assorted cliches), remains. This is the song that sprang from those reflections. Tragically, the number of Iraqi people, including a great many civilians, estimated to have been killed in the conflict is upwards of half a million. In this 100th anniversary year of the Somme, I wonder when humanity will ever learn to turn the tide away from slaughter and towards peaceful co-existence.
How Many More Willie McBrides? was one of ten winning songs in the International Songs For Change competition, and features Alasdair Taylor of The Elephant Sessions on guitar, Rua Macmillan on fiddle, Robin Abbot on double bass, Dave Martin of the Big Fat Electric Ceilidh on percussion, and myself on piano and vocals.
Born and brought up in Inverness, Liza’s background of a big Glasgow-Irish clan of musicians and singers on her father’s side, and Gaelic song tradition of her mother’s Isle of Lewis heritage, inevitably meant a strong pull towards the folk scene. She is a tutor on the Feis Rois YMI programme and Artsplay Highland, and has played with the Deaf Heights Cajun Aces, fiddler Bruce MacGregor, Gaelic singers Fiona MacKenzie and Brian O h Eadhra, cellist Christine Hanson, Davy Cowan And The Stormchasers, Andy Gunn’s blues band and others. Playing on many albums, her tunes and songs have also been recorded by Bruce MacGregor and own indie-folk band, Dorec-a-belle.
On this self-penned album, Fine ‘n’ Rosy, Liza brings together some top players, including her cousin, Rua Macmillan, winner of BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician Of the Year 2009, Alasdair Taylor of the Folk Award-winning band, The Elephant Sessions, and Robin Abbot of The Mystic Shoes. This intimate album comprises reflective ballads such as On The Road and title track, Fine ‘n’ Rosy, uptempo songs with catchy choruses, complemented by rollicking, rootsy tunes and dreamy instrumentals. Proceeds from digital downloads of the opening track, Took My Breath Away – about domestic abuse – go to Inverness Women’s Aid.
In her production business, Metagama Productions, Liza has made many music & arts TV and radio documentaries for BBC Scotland, writes music-related features and articles.
Artist website: http://www.metagamaproductions.com
Single title: How Many More Willie McBrides?
Album title: Fine ‘n’ Rosy
Release Date: 12/09/2016
Single artist: Liza Mulholland
Single duration: 4.08
Record Label: Metagama Productions Ltd
Catalogue No: METACD001
Writers: Liza Mulholland
Publishers: Metagama Productions Ltd
Explicit?: No
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