The Summer Walkers - Runrig

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The Summer Walkers Lyrics

Sometimes when you journey
Through the pages of a book
You're taken places beyond words
You let them speak the truth
Today I've opened treasures
That my eyes could scarce believe
They're the words of confirmation
Everything that makes me sing

Summer comes to Sutherland
And you bend the hazel bow
You harness up the ponies
And you head out on the road
By Kilbreck and Altnaharra
You journey to your rest
With the guiding might of Suliven
For the campsites of the West

And it's up by the Shin
And up by the 'Naver
And the long winding shores
Of Loch Maree
By Ben Hope and Ben Loyal
By Stack and by Arkle
The road reaches far
Now the summer is here

Now your words are not of sentiment
Shallow or untrue
But wells of living water
And from their clear deep sides we drew
The songs, the tin, the horses
This country's great and ancient wilds
Your faith in God and man and nature
And the keenness of your guile

(Chorus)

So have you stood out on Coldbackie
At the time the sun goes down
Or up on the king of campsites
In the hills about Brae Tongue
That's when music filled your evenings
It's all so different now, this world
For you were the summer walkers
And the fishers of the pearl.

(Chorus)

So as we close another chapter
That we label Archive Gold
Still the Conon flows each morning
And the dew falls from the sloe
But today you took me walking
Through a land that we have lost
While our children sit at websites
With no access to the cost

(Chorus)

(Repeat)

Lyrics provided by LyricsEver.com
Runrig were a Scottish folk rock band founded by brothers Calum and Rory Macdonald in 1973 in Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland. The band was popular across the United Kingdom, Denmark and Germany and was notable for combining original songs in Gaelic with a rock sound, thus reflecting the Gaelic culture.

Runrig began in 1973 as a three-piece named the "Run Rig Dance Band", its members comprising Calum Macdonald and Rory Macdonald, and their friend, accordionist Blair Douglas. The line-up played its first gig at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. Donnie Munro joined the following year and the band started to expand outside its native Skye. Douglas left the band in late 1974 and was replaced by Robert Macdonald, with Campbell Gunn joining for a brief spell in 1976. This line-up continued until 1978, when Blair Douglas re-joined and multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Jones became guitarist, both displacing Macdonald. This lasted until the following year when Douglas left again to pursue a solo career. 1980 saw the arrival of drummer Iain Bayne (ex-New Celeste) and 1981 that of keyboard player Richard Cherns. Cherns left in February 1986 and was replaced by ex-Big Country member Peter Wishart. This formed what became known as the classic line-up for the next 11 years.

In 1997, lead singer Donnie Munro left the band for a career in politics, but later resumed his musical career to become a solo artist. The remaining members contemplated splitting up, but after a long search they replaced Donnie with Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Guthro. This issue has divided Runrig's fan base; some argue that the loss of Donnie's highly distinctive vocals and his ability to sing in both Gaelic and English has not been truly compensated for by Bruce, whose vocal style is much lighter and who is not a Gaelic speaker. Others claim that the fact that Bruce has such a different voice has allowed Runrig to evolve musically in ways that it might not have done were Donnie still with them.

In 2001, Peter Wishart, the band's keyboard player, left after being elected Member of Parliament for the constituency of Tayside North for the Scottish National Party. Brian Hurren stepped in to take Wishart's place in the band.

The band "pulled down the curtain" on their 45 year career with a final concert in Stirling on 18th August 2018, titled "The Last Dance".

Membership
- Bruce Guthro (Lead vocals, guitar)
- Rory Macdonald (Songwriter, bass, vocals)
- Calum Macdonald (Songwriter, percussion)
- Malcolm Jones[ (Guitars, pipes, accordion)
- Iain Bayne (Drums)
- Brian Hurren (Keyboards, vocals)

Past members
- Donnie Munro (Lead vocals, guitar)
- Peter Wishart (Keyboards)
- Richard Cherns (Keyboards)
- Blair Douglas (Accordion, keyboards)
- Robert Macdonald (Accordion)
- Campbell Gunn (Vocals)

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