Superstitious Scots

February 4, 2014 12:46 AM

When the Song Dies

In Scotland, folk songs serve as memories, of places and the dead who once inhabited them. Exploring the theme of change, When the Song Dies seeks to bring the audience under the captive spell of the old ways. Featuring a range of contributors, the film is a poignant reminder that the dead linger on, all around us, in the houses and landscapes we live in, and in the language and music of our culture. Whilst Scottishness is at the heart of the film, this story is as universal as it is specific. It is the story of a culture that is, like so many, in danger of fading from human memory.

A 15-minute film directed by Jamie Chambers.
posted by Lezzles (5 comments total)

"In Scotland, folk songs serve as memories, of places and the dead who once inhabited them."

I think you'll find that's what folk songs do everywhere else too.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:35 AM on February 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I think you'll find that's what folk songs do everywhere else too.

... which is why the blurb says "this story is as universal as it is specific".
posted by Lezzles at 4:40 AM on February 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

I remain a bit puzzled by the blurb, to be honest, especially the first sentence, given that the film isn't about folk songs (and, as Paul Slade rightly points out, it's an inane observation). The film sort of drifts along in a way that's not unpleasant, but if the point is meant to be about disappearance of culture, it doesn't really start hinting at that until the last third. But I'm actually not sure that's the point. I'm just left a bit confused, to be honest.
posted by hoyland at 5:39 AM on February 4, 2014

Quite lovely, thanks for posting it. My takeaway was a little different. The oral traditions of Scotland are dying out, as are we all eventually, but I think the interwoven stories of seers and supernatural encounters suggested that, though the culture disappears, the land that shaped it remains and that something of the old traditions will survive there after we're gone. It was quite a comforting message.

On a slightly related note, it's worth mentioning the fine work being done by the Tobar an Dualchais project to preserve as much of the oral tradition of Scotland as it can find.
posted by IanMorr at 9:59 AM on February 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

This is lovely. Thanks, Lezzles.
posted by homunculus at 11:15 AM on February 4, 2014