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Immigrants anywhere have often been treated with high suspicion and disgust. Or, once established, they themselves have participated in the removal of aboriginal people in these lands they have gone to in search for a better future. The Scots know this very well from their own eventful history, the path of emigration is a well-trodden one. So it is no surprise that many songs and compositions have been inspired by the subject. Maybe more surprising that the Battlefield Band (-> FW#27) decided to dedicate an entire album to refugees, asylum seekers and economical emigrants. But why not. Singer-keyboarder Alan Reid's "The Road of Tears" sets the theme. The Highland Clearances, the Irish Famine, the expulsion of Native Americans, and contemporary issues all put in one song. Moreover, Robert Burns' "The Slave's Lament" and "To a Mouse", Woody Guthrie's (-> FW#31) "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos", and the often recorded "Emigrant('s Farewell)". Certainly, there are tunes as well: "The Highlander's Farewell to Ireland" turns out to be a strathspey version of the reel "Farewell to Ireland". Fiddler Alasdair White wrote "The Patagonia Highlanders" after he found out that 4 percent of foreign settlers in Patagonia in 1895 had been Scottish shepherds. "Don Juan McKenna's Jig" is named after the Tyrone born hero of Chile's War of Independence. The line-up of the Batties at the time of writing also includes piper Mike Katz and Northern-Irish singer and guitar player Sean O'Donnell (Deaf Shepherd, Emily Smith Band, Solas; see review below). Furthermore, Mike Whellans (-> FW#27) plays mouthie on "Out in Australia at Last" (-> FW#31) and other songs.
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