As with Sir Patrick Spens, I learned Lord Randal through the University of Glasgow’s Traditional to Digital project, this time from the singing of John Eaglesham. I later recorded it with Alasdair Roberts for a limited-edition compilation released in 2017, and it returned to the live set when Ali and I began touring together in 2024.
Child 12, Lord Randal is one of the starkest dialogue ballads: a poisoned son, a questioning mother, and the truth arriving verse by verse. Here the arrangement is stripped back to voice, a pipe melody carried live throughout, and Roo’s muted fiddle.
Recording & credits
Traditional, arranged by Donald WG Lindsay and Roo Geddes. Voice and Lindsay System Scottish smallpipes: Donald WG Lindsay. Fiddle: Roo Geddes. Engineering, mixing and mastering: Nick Turner. Recorded at Watercolour Music, Ardgour, April 2026.
Honeymoon Bridge — track notes, Disc Two 07.