My Musical Alphabet : M

As I keep saying, this stuff isn't mine and may very well be pulled for breach of copyright. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its foreign variants, for copies. I'm sure you know how.

My next dive into my musical alphabet brings me to the letter M and you won't be surprised to find something German in here if you've been following any of this blog. I say German but I wouldn't use it to brush up on your language skills - it is written in a dialect (Swabian if you're interested). The song starts in at about 40 seconds. This version is sung by what sounds like a mixed male choir. By now you may be saying to yourself, "That sounds familiar." Well, it is a well known song but you be more familiar with is as Wooden Heart as sung by Elvis Presley.

Anyway, here it is:

Muß i' denn zum Städtele hinaus

By the way, if this hankering for all things German is rubbing off on you the following site is a treasure trove - http://ingeb.org

This next M is also covered by Movies. You are unlikely to know me but I am not really a fan of musicals. Now and again one comes along which is a classic from day 1.

The following track is sung by Louis Prima...

I Wanna Be Like You - The Jungle Book

This is Disney's best without a doubt but second place is sometimes amusing too as evidenced by this:-

From Valiant

It's amusing as I am quite partial to yodels. Real yodels, the Alpine kind, not these pygmy ones or those from the Australian outback or the Mid West of the old USA.

This penultimate video combines Movies and Guitars. Nothing sounds better than one guitar, save perhaps two. It is from the Movie Das Boot. BTW there is a "prequel" on Sky Atlantic should you be interested.

Erinnerung performed by Darko Nikcevic & Srdjan Bulatovic

I do like a bit of classical now and again. This next from Mozart. Possibly one you're not too familiar with. Unless you're also a fan of Movies. Harry Palmer's outing in Funeral In Berlin featured this.

Mozart: Piano concerto #23 in A, 3rd movement. (K.488)

No video link for that one.

I'll finish off with one for my dear old Mum. I saved up my pocket money to buy this for her. Sorry for the cheesiness here but Opportunity Knocks for Neil Reid:

Mother Of Mine

Well, there you go for February. March's output is likely to be a delve into the realm of 60s TV. I look forward to catching up with you then.

Well that's it for the M's. I think you'll agree a nice little collection of tunes. Feel free to add any comments whether you like these songs or not. And if you're wondering where Metallica is all I can say is that they are not on my radar. If they're on yours and you'd like to see them mentioned, drop a comment. There might not be another way.

Dundee Part 1 - The City

Bonnie Dundee

Where it all began 

I suppose I should tell you a bit about myself to give you an insight into the stuff on here. It might be ten years late but better late than never, eh?

The picture above was taken from the Kingdom of Fife showing the Tay road bridge leading to Scotland's best city - my city - Dundee. That hill, all 571 feet of it, is a volcanic plug - an extinct volcano. There, that's your first odd fact.

I was born there some time before that road bridge was built (Jeez, I sound old) when the only way over to the other side of the river was a long car drive, the railway bridge (the one over the Silvery Tay) or the "Fifies" - the paddle steam boats. The Silvery Tay - the river of McGonagall infamy. You want bad poetry, go and read this.

Dundee is a coastal city on the Firth of Tay. It is a long and thin city stretching along the coast and back to the hills.  If Facebook is to be believed, Dundee is making the news as a great place to be, a great place to visit. The waterfront is being regenerated and boasts some class sites: 2 nautical museums: RRS Discovery, Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition ship, and a 19th-century warship, HM Frigate Unicorn. North of the water, Verdant Works is a museum celebrating the city’s jute-manufacturing heritage. The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum displays art and archaeological finds. I wonder if the skeleton of the Tay Whale is still there? Then there is the brand new V&A museum, Scotland's first design museum. Check out our old friend YouTube

Behind the strange dialect (Eh, eh hae a fleh in meh eh), Dundee is a truly inspiring city - just have a gander over to Wikipedia for a rundown.  You can also check out Trip Advisor and the like with the caveat - read with a large dose of salt. Some people will pick holes in anything for their five minutes of fame.

Back to me. I'm a schemie - born on a housing estate and spent most of my early years on one or other. All my school mates were the same.

I was a child in the 60s so spent my time outside playing in the back green, or down by the burn, or out by the gas tank. No 24 hr TV, no computers, no consoles.

I studied at the best secondary school in the city and the teachers there played a great part in where I am today, but the school is no more. Like lots of the city, those in charge decided to pull it down as it served no useful purpose.

I wasted a couple of years in Glasgow before heading back east to commute from Carnoustie.

I settled in a tower block before travelling all the way to the south of England for employent and that is where this story finds itself now

Do have a look at the Wikipedia site, it's well worth it.

Well, there you go. Thanks for taking the time to have a read/listen to my warblings. Feel free to like, comment or share (as they always say on YouTube). If you have any questions about Dundee or Scotland, drop me a message and I'll see what I can do.