Music plays an important role throughout the Outlander novels and television series. Many of them are performed in the books by Roger MacKenzie, who earns the nickname a Smeòraich, meaning "song thrush" in the Gaelic. In the TV series, music director Bear McCreary selects many traditional Scottish tunes to include in various episodes, as well as a few 1940s-era songs that are familiar to Claire.
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Music in the Outlander Novels
Outlander
| Chapter | Song | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | "The Dowie Dens o Yarrow" | |
| Murtagh teaches Claire this song while on the road searching for Jamie. |
Dragonfly in Amber
| Chapter | Song | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | "Goldberg Variations" by Johann Sebastian Bach | |
| The piece used to create the cipher that Claire and Mother Hildegarde decode. |
Voyager
| Chapter | Song | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?" by Walter Donaldson (music), Joe Young (lyricist), and Sam M. Lewis (lyricist) |
(as performed by Nora Bayes) |
| Claire mentions the WWI-era song to Roger, as one that her Uncle Lamb's army friends used to sing. |
Drums of Autumn
| Chapter | Song | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "To Anacreon in Heaven" | |
| Claire hears someone in the tavern sing the song, and she softly adds the last two lines of The Star-Spangled Banner. | ||
| 4 | "The Road to the Isles" | |
| From Roger's set at the Celtic festival in New England with Brianna. | ||
| "The Gallowa' Hills" | ||
| From Roger's set at the festival. | ||
| "The Lewis Bridal Song" | ||
| From Roger's set at the festival. | ||
| "Vair Me O (Eriskay Love Lilt)" | ||
| From Roger's set at the festival. | ||
| "Hey, Johnnie Cope, Are Ye Waking Yet?" | ||
| From Roger's set at the festival. | ||
| "MacPherson's Lament" | ||
| From Roger's set at the festival. | ||
| "The Sherramuir Fight" by Robert Burns | ||
| From Roger's set at the festival. | ||
| "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" | ||
| From Roger's set at the festival. |
The Fiery Cross
| Chapter | Song | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | "Ceann-ràra" | n/a |
| Mrs. Bug learns of Roger's nickname, a Smeòraich, and is in awe of his singing the night before. | ||
| "Loch Ruadhainn" | n/a | |
| Mrs. Bug learns of Roger's nickname, a Smeòraich, and is in awe of his singing the night before. | ||
| 16 | (poem fragment)[1] from the Carmina Gadelica, vol. II (1900) |
n/a |
| Roger sings for Brianna on their wedding night. | ||
| "Yesterday" by The Beatles | ||
| Roger sings for Brianna on their wedding night. | ||
| 21 | "Oh My Darling, Clementine" | |
| Roger hears Brianna singing this to Jemmy. | ||
| 23-24 | "Ho-Ro My Nut-Brown Maiden" | |
| Brianna conveys a list of song requests to Roger from Jamie for the burning of the fiery cross. One of these she calls "Ho Ro!". | ||
| "Birniebouzle" | ||
| From Roger's set on Fraser's Ridge. | ||
| "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry" | ||
| From Roger's set on Fraser's Ridge. | ||
| "The Braes o' Killiecrankie" | ||
| From Roger's set on Fraser's Ridge. | ||
| "The Haughs of Cromdale" | ||
| From Roger's set on Fraser's Ridge. | ||
| "Hey, Johnnie Cope, Are Ye Waking Yet?" | ||
| From Roger's set on Fraser's Ridge. | ||
| "Flower of Scotland" | ||
| From Roger's set on Fraser's Ridge. | ||
| 47 | "Oh My Darling, Clementine" | |
| Brianna and Roger soothe Jemmy with this lullaby. |
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
| Chapter | Song | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | "The Maid Gaed Tae The Mill]"[2] (The Maid Went to the Mill)[3] |
|
| A drunken Roger, singing lines from a bawdy song, makes advances on Brianna at the McGillivrays'. | ||
| 25 | "The Twa Corbies" | |
| Roger recalls the song in horror after finding the burned-down cabin with Jamie. | ||
| 55 | "Yellow Submarine" by The Beatles | |
| Donner whistles this song to identify himself to the other time travelers. | ||
| 85 | "Eppie Morrie" | |
| Young Ian sings this song while he, Jamie, and Roger prepare to ride with Joseph Wemyss to find Fraulein Berrisch. | ||
| 99 | "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash | |
| Brianna hears Jemmy singing. |
An Echo in the Bone
| Chapter | Song | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lillibullero" | |
| Lord John whistles the tune as he returns to his room at an inn in Wilmington. | ||
| 4 | "O thoir a-nall am Botul" | n/a |
| Jamie makes a passing reference to drunken mourners singing this song. | ||
| 5 | "The Animals Went in Two by Two ('Into the Ark')" | |
| Brianna sings the first lines as she and Roger head upstairs for bed. | ||
| 16 | "Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford | 
|
| Roger recalls Jem singing this song just as two Tea Society ladies arrive to visit. | ||
| 34 | "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" by Henry Baker, to the tune of "St. Columba"[4] | |
| Brianna hears Roger singing. | ||
| "The Lord's My Shepherd" set to the tune "Crimond" by Jessie Seymour Irvine | ||
| Brianna hears Roger singing. |
Written in My Own Heart's Blood
| Chapter | Song | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | "Die Sommernacht" by Franz Schubert | |
| Lord John sings the song to alert Dottie to his presence in the American camp. | ||
| "Greensleeves" | ||
| Men in the American camp, inspired by Lord John's burst of song, sing their own songs. | ||
| "Chester" by William Billings | ||
| Men in the American camp, inspired by Lord John's burst of song, sing their own songs. | ||
| "A Nighean nan Geug"[5] | ||
| Jamie thinks of the grim lullaby when Mrs. Hardman begins to sing to her youngest daughter. | ||
| "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry" | ||
| Jamie thinks of the song as a better alternative for a Quaker. | ||
| 31 | "The Sherramuir Fight" by Robert Burns | |
| Roger sings the song for Brian Fraser, who is very taken with the poem – which won't be written for another fifty-odd years. | ||
| 51 | "Yankee Doodle" | File:Yankee Doodle ( American Patriotic Song ) |
| Lord John listens to the continentals sing the latest American version of the song, while recalling earlier British versions he had heard. | ||
| 66 | "Nessun dorma" from Turandot by Giacomo Puccini | |
| Ian thinks of the phrase nessun dorma – "none shall sleep" – as he prepares to put on his war paint, recalling that Brianna had told him it was the name of an aria in an opera. | ||
| 80 | "Lillibullero" | |
| Hal whistles the tune to test William's ability to recognize it. |
Music in the Lord John Series
Music in the TV Series
Season One
| Episode | Song | Audio
|
|---|---|---|
| Main Title
|
"The Skye Boat Song" (feat. Raya Yarbrough) | |
| Adapted by Bear McCreary from the poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. | ||
| 1x01
|
"I'm Gonna Get Lit Up (When The Lights Go On In London)" by Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans (1940) | |
| Claire and Frank drive through the Highlands. | ||
| "Shuffle Rhythm" by Jan Savitt | 
| |
| Frank points out Cocknammon Rock to Claire | ||
| "Beneath the Lights of Home" by Geraldo & His Orchestra | ||
| Claire and Frank visit the Reverend to confer about Frank's ancestor | ||
| "Duan na Muthairn (Rune of the Muthairn)"[6] arr. Bear McCreary | Original television soundtrack, Vol. I (as "Dance of the Druids (feat. Raya Yarbrough)") | |
| Claire and Frank watch the druids as they dance at the stone circle on Craigh na Dun | ||
| "Run Rabbit Run" by Harry Roy & His Band | n/a | |
| Claire reads in a chair, searching for the plant she saw at the stone circle | ||
| 1x02
|
"The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" arr. Bear McCreary |
Original television soundtrack, Vol. I (as "Castle Leoch") |
| Dougal engages Hamish in swordplay as Claire looks on | ||
| "Run Rabbit Run" by Harry Roy & His Band | n/a | |
| Claire hums the song to herself, then gathers plants and fungi on the castle grounds | ||
| 1x03 | "Comin’ Thro' The Rye" arr. Bear McCreary | Original television soundtrack, Vol. I |
| Claire works in her surgery | ||
| "An Fhideag Airgid" as sung by Gillebrìde MacMillan | n/a | |
| Gwyllyn the Bard entertains the MacKenzies with song | ||
| "Gradh Geal Mo Chridhe" as sung by Gillebrìde MacMillan | n/a | |
| Gwyllyn the Bard entertains the MacKenzies | ||
| "The Woman of Balnain" as sung by Gillebrìde MacMillan; arr. Bear McCreary | Original television soundtrack, Vol. I | |
| Gwyllyn the Bard sings a song about a woman who disappeared on a fairy hill and returned after a time | ||
| 1x04 | "That Lovely Weekend" by Geraldo & His Orchestra, Dorothy Carless | |
| Claire talks to Alec about a horse and contemplates her escape plans | ||
| "The Haughs o’ Cromdale" arr. Bear McCreary | n/a | |
| The Gathering begins | ||
| "Clean Pease Strae" arr. Bear McCreary | Original television soundtrack, Vol. I | |
| Dougal enters the game of shinty | ||
| 1x05 | "To the Begging I Will Go" arr. Bear McCreary | n/a |
| Dougal and Ned Gowan collect rents | ||
| "Mo Nighean Donn Hò Gù" as sung by the waulking women | n/a[7] | |
| Claire joins a group of women in waulking wool | ||
| "The Skye Boat Song" arr. Bear McCreary | Original television soundtrack, Vol. I (as "The Losing Side of History") | |
| Claire recalls discussing the Jacobites with Frank after recognizing the name "Stuart" in Dougal's Gaelic speech | ||
| "The Highland Widow’s Lament" arr. Bear McCreary | Original television soundtrack, Vol. I (as "The Losing Side of History") | |
| The rent-collecting group have a funeral for the crucified Scotsmen and Dougal continues to rally support for the Jacobite cause | ||
| "The High Road to Linton" arr. by Bear McCreary | n/a | |
| Tavern brawl in defense of Claire's honor | ||
| "Ye Jacobites by Name" arr. by Bear McCreary | Original television soundtrack, Vol. I (as "The Losing Side of History") | |
| Claire remembers walking Culloden Moor with Frank | ||
| 1x06 | "Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind" arr. Bear McCreary | n/a |
| Lord Thomas entertains Claire as his guest | ||
| 1x07 | "Celia Learning on the Spinnet" arr. Bear McCreary | n/a |
| Ned Gowan is tasked with finding a wedding dress in a brothel | ||
| 1x09 | "The Skye Boat Song" arr. Bear McCreary | n/a |
| Dougal tries to justify collecting funds for the Jacobite cause | ||
| 1x12 | "Comin’ Thro' The Rye" arr. Bear McCreary | Original television soundtrack, Vol. I |
| Claire and Jamie meet and greet with the tenants of Lallybroch. | ||
| "The Barnyards of Delgaty" arr. Bear McCreary | n/a | |
| Dinner scene | ||
| "Maids, When You’re Young Never Wed an Old Man" arr. Bear McCreary |
n/a | |
| Jamie staggers to bed, drunk after a long Quarter Day; reprise the next morning when he's hungover. | ||
| 1x14 | "My Bonnie Moorhen"[8] arr. Bear McCreary | n/a |
| Claire and Jenny track the redcoats. | ||
| "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" made famous by The Andrews Sisters and sung by Caitriona Balfe in the episode | Version by The Andrews Sisters (1941) | |
| Claire suggests to Murtagh that they step up their act with a song, and sings a few lines of the song. Murtagh likes the tune, but suggests they adapt it to lyrics that their audience would know. Claire sings the tune using Scots lyrics based on the bawdy song "The Reels O' Bogie"[9][10] | ||
| 1x16 | "Sleepy Maggie" arr. Bear McCreary | n/a |
| The highlanders rescue Jamie from Wentworth using a stampede of cattle. |
Resources
References
- ↑ "Carmina Gadelica, vol. II: Notes", page 231, via The Internet Archive. Accessed 16 April 2015.
- ↑ Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, Etc via Google Books. Accessed 25 March 2015.
- ↑ The Maid Went to the Mill – Accessed 25 March 2015.
- ↑ St. Columba – an Irish melody
- ↑ Celtic Lyrics Corner – "A Nighean nan Geug". Accessed 3 June 2015.
- ↑ "Duan na Muthairn (Rune of the Muthairn)": Invocations. Carmina Gadelica, via The Internet Archive. Accessed 17 April 2015.
- ↑ He Mo Leannan Ho Mo Leannan/Mo Nighean Donn Ho Gu – Version sung by Bannal
- ↑ Bonny Moorhen – Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music. Accessed 23 May 2015.
- ↑ The Reels o Bogie – adapted by Scotstext from the anglicized version. Accessed 24 May 2015.
- ↑ Merry muses of Caledonia edited by James Barke and Sydney Goodsir Smith. Indicates "The Reels o' Bogie" was collected by Burns. Accessed 24 May 2015.