SONGS OF LOVE AND PARTING

Early December calls for carefully selected music choices. Playing Andy Williams or Mario Lanza too early risks prematurely exhausting the Christmas music quota for the month ahead. Instead, today I’ve been enjoying Robin Williamson's beautiful album Songs of Love and Parting, a favourite of my late father.

Listening to the stirring melodies from Scotland’s most esoteric bard brings back a tangible sense of my dad, who used to mimic Williamson's unique Scottish vocal inflections whenever he sang any of his songs on his guitar. The album also evokes deep emotions, as many of its songs explore profound themes of life, love, and loss.

Released in 1981, Songs of Love and Parting (Claddagh) was Williamson’s first solo album after disbanding his Merry Band and is regarded by many as his finest work, seamlessly balancing traditional music with modern songwriting. Some of my favorite tracks include “For Mr. Thomas” (later covered by Van Morrison), “Return No More,” “Fare Thee Well Sweet Mally,” and “Verses in Stewart Street.”

I’ve often felt, listening to this pivotal work by the former Incredible String Band musician, that he is a timeless figure—seamlessly threading the rich cultural past of Scotland with the present, as if no time had passed through all its centuries since its national identity was first forged. To me, he could belong just as easily to the 10th century as the 20th. And in some ways, when I think about my father, I feel the same. He could have easily been from another century, just as much as the one he was born in. Perhaps, as he always liked to remind me, time is merely an illusion—a construct shaped by the mind. Listening to this musical masterpiece from Robin Williamson certainly makes a convincing case for this transcendent idea.