Arran Boat Song

“Arran Boat Song” is a slow air from the Scottish Highlands, the title is often misunderstood as the “Aran Boat Song” and is therefore widely considered incorrectly as traditional Irish. The air is actually named for Arran Island in the Firth of Clyde on the Scottish mainland’s western side. It is a very popular melody and although it was published in the collections of nineteenth-century music it has been traced back to the seventeenth century. I grew up close to the ocean; there were also numerous lakes in the area. Whenever I play this piece, I remember the small boats that glided through the water leaving a whisper of waves.