TRACKS
1. Gunny of the Engadine
2. I am the Whisky Maker
3. High Glen
4. The Smallest Whisky Bar
5. All the Whisky Men
6. Paul Campbell
7. Lady Katharina
8. Try, Try, Try
Tales from a unique friendship.
Below you can find the lyrics of all the tracks on this CD
ACUSTIC APPETIZERS
All the Whisky Men
Lady Katharina
Gunny
Gunny of the Engadine
He smokes bananas and Havana cigars
Drives women crazy and he drives fast cars
Oh oh oh oh Gunny
He’ll take you up the pass for a drive or a spin
Hairpin bends with a mischievous grin
Oh oh oh oh Gunny
He know things they never teach you
In the school or at the Uni.
If his life was a movie
He’d have to be played by George Clooney
Smooth and audacious
Tends to be loquacious
His disposition never is gloomy.
That’s Gunny, oh oh Gunny
You won’t catch Gunny on a bus or a train
He’s a high fl yin’ dude with a taste for champagne
Oh oh oh oh Gunny
He’s one of a kind, in a class of his own
Pulled the Swiss Army Knife out of the stone
Oh oh oh oh Gunny
He know things they never teach you
In the school or at the Uni.
If his life was a movie
He’d have to be played by George Clooney
Smooth and audacious
Tends to be loquacious
His disposition never is gloomy.
That’s Gunny, oh oh Gunny
He runs on speed and gasoline
High proof whisky and caffeine
He’s a greased ball
Flying round a pinball machine
Gunny of the Engadine
He’s a spiritual guide; he’s a master of oak
He should have a wand and a starry black cloak
Oh oh oh oh Gunny
When he pours you a whisky straight or a gin
He always fi lls the glass right to the brim
Oh oh oh oh Gunny
He runs on speed and gasoline
High proof whisky and caffeine
He’s a greased ball
Flying round a pinball machine
Gunny of the Engadine
Gunny of the Engadine
Background of this song
Gunter (Gunny to his closest friends) is a larger than life character
with a robust sense of humour. I guessed he wouldn’t mind me
making a musical caricature of him – and he didn’t.
I am the Whisky Maker
I am the whisky maker
I am the whisky man
I hold magic and miracles
In the palm of my hand
First there’s the magic of barley
A special little seed
Sweetness and clever enzymes
A wonderful combo indeed
Then there’s the saccharomyces
Cerevisiae
Turning the basic sweetness
Into something I like
I am the whisky maker
I am the whisky man
I hold magic and miracles
In the palm of my hand
The stills are made out of copper
See how they gleam and shine
Purifying the spirit
Making it something sublime
Five little miracles in my hand
That nature to us has given
Adding my skill
I can distil
The nectar that will
Take you to heaven
Oak trees are felled in the forest
The spirit is softly embraced
The wood by some kind of magic
Gives it colour and taste
We dry the peat through the summer
And burn it to capture its heat
The smoke emboldens the barley
Making our pleasure complete
I am the whisky maker
I am the whisky man
I hold magic and miracles
In the palm of my hand
Five little miracles in my hand
That nature to us has given
Adding my skill
I can distil
The nectar that will
Take you to heaven
I am the whisky maker
I am the whisky man
I hold magic and miracles
In the palm of my hand
I am the whisky maker
I am the whisky man
I hold magic and miracles
In the palm, the palm of my hand
Background of this song
To watch Gunter go from a guy with a whisky bar and a passion for uisge beatha to
someone who built his own distillery and taught himself how to make good whisky was, well – like watching a caterpillar morph into a beautiful butterfl y. I have always thought that whisky makers bring together fi ve of nature’s miracles, which their skill then magics into a wonderful thing indeed.
High Glen
Snow is falling and the night comes on
There’s a place I have to be but the way is long
There’s a mountain pass I have to cross
Before I reach High Glen
Oh oh oh oh oh – High Glen
Oh oh oh oh oh – High Glen
Oh oh oh – High Glen
In the mountains I feel the energy
When I hear the thunder roll it speaks to me
Wild winds blow the driving snow
And make music in the trees
Oh oh oh oh oh – High Glen
Oh oh oh oh oh – High Glen
Oh oh oh – High Glen
Don’t believe the things they tell you
Or let your troubles overwhelm you
There’s a better place that you can be
I’ve washed the city from my soul
And I’ve left behind what I can’t control
Coming close to journey’s end
I’ve been too long from High Glen
Oh oh oh oh oh – High Glen
Oh oh oh oh oh – High Glen
Oh oh oh – High Glen
Don’t believe the things they tell you
Or let your troubles overwhelm you
There’s a better place that you can be
Oh oh oh oh oh – High Glen
Oh oh oh oh oh – High Glen
Oh oh oh – High Glen
Smiling faces and old friends
Crystal glass and a candle fl ame
Back again in High Glen
Background of this song
There is something deeply beautiful about Gunter’s place in Santa Maria (his house, his bar, his first distillery) with those incredible mountain views, between the high, rugged Ofenpass and the extensive Italian orchards of the South Tyrol. I am usually approaching it from the north, over the pass — and it always feels like I am coming back to a safe, welcoming place that feels like home.
The Smallest Whisky Bar
I will follow my star
To the smallest whisky bar on earth
And we will see
What we might see over there
In Santa Maria
In Val Mustair
Would you like to come too
I am sure that you will find
Just like me
Everything will feel alright
In Santa Maria
Where it’s warm at night
I can’t resist the call
Over mountains and miles
I could be there by nightfall
In Santa Maria
We can go in my car
And though it’s far to drive
At journey’s end
We’ll fi nd new friends I know
Santa Maria
Is the place to go
There are no clichés
It’s the funkiest place I know
It may be small
But within these walls you’ll fi nd
In Santa Maria
Some peace of mind
I can’t resist the call
Over mountains and miles
I could be there by nightfall
In Santa Maria
In that tiny bar
Gunter and Macbutton serve
Fine drams for you
With passion true and rare
In Santa Maria
Good spirits there
I can’t resist the call
Over mountains and miles
I could be there by nightfall
In Santa Maria, Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Santa Maria
Background of this song
Gunter’s bar, The Smallest Whisky Bar on Earth (SWBOE), is in the Guinness book of records, but that is not what impresses me – instead it is the purist way it only serves whisky (if you want other drinks, go somewhere else) and the cosiness and cheerfulness of this small environment. Whoever comes in, it is hard not to strike up a conversation. It is simply unique.
All the Whisky Men
I poured a dram and I closed my eyes
I’m in a room with the whisky men
All those cool and colourful guys
From nowadays to way back when
Five hundred years of the Whisky Men
Heroes and characters one and all
From monacled Johnny and Charlie Maclean
To Friar John Cor and his famous eight bolls
All the Whisky Men
I’m in their company
All the Whisky Men
Having a dram with me
Tommy Dewar’s burning my ears
With all the tales of his latest trip
Old Glenlivet just appeared
Packing two pistols on his hip
Long John’s longer than little John Black
But he’s not blacker than old Long John
Jim McEwan never holds back
His wonderful stories rolling on and on
All the Whisky Men
I’m in their company
All the Whisky Men
Having a dram with me
Bernasconi has the biggest whisky bar
Two and a half thousand to be precise
Gunter Sommer has the smallest by far
No beer, no vodka, no wine, no dice
Richard Paterson in a very nice tie
Is throwing stuff around like he tends to do
The angels are teaching Michael Jackson to fl y
He’s a Yorkshire Lithuanian atheist Jew
All the Whisky Men
I’m in their company
All the Whisky Men
Having a dram with me
Jim Murray’s preaching from his bible again
And Restless Peter can’t keep still
All the Grants are down from the Glen
Pip Hills is grilling Dr Bill
I see two guys who are having a row
Aeneas Coffey and Robert Stein
It’s time to open the whisky now
Pour them a dram and they’ll get along fine
All the Whisky Men
I’m in their company
All the Whisky Men
Having a dram with me
Suddenly my dream goes Pop!
All the whisky men disappear
I didn’t want this dream to stop
I’m softly sobbing in my beer
A door fl ies open with a sudden noise
Shrieks of laughter and bows and frills
Now I don’t miss those whisky boys
Cos I’m surrounded by the whisky girls
All the whisky girls
I’m in their company
All the whisky girls
Having a dram with me
All the whisky girls
I’m in their company
All the whisky girls
Laughing and teasing me
Background of this song
A reverie that became a song – sharing a dram with a load of whisky guys,
past and present – and of course, Gunter is in there among them.
Paul Campbell
My name is Paul Campbell, I come from Balmichael
In the hills above Arran’s western shore
My poor heart is grieving for Arran I am leaving
Just like my brother before
Away to the west I am fl ying in haste
And I fear I may not see Arran, evermore
The Government’s agents, those parasitic gaugers
Had pestered this island for a year
They’re ruthless and they’re wicked and they killed Isa Nicholl
And left her poor children in tears
And they come in the night and they break things for spite
They think that the people will crumble, out of fear
They came to Balmichael when the still was at a trickle
And destroyed everything they could fi nd
I couldn’t hold my temper and though I don’t remember
They say I made one of them blind
But a man has to fi ght when he thinks he is right
And if he loses all in the struggle, never mind
For striking my betters they put my hands in fetters
And sent me to Glasgow for trial
The skipper was McArthur and close to Dumbarton
He spoke to me in Gaelic and he smiled
So I jumped overboard where the white breakers roared
For a Campbell will never be friendless, in Argyll
In all kinds of weather I’ve been hiding in the heather
Just like a shadow unseen
But I know they will hunt me and I’ll have to leave the country
It feels like the worst kind of dream
So I’m travelling on to where my brother has gone
And we’ll see if the good folk take whisky in New Orleans
My name is Paul Campbell and I come from Balmichael
In the hills above Arran’s western shore
My poor heart is grieving for Arran I am leaving
Just like my brother before
And away to the west I am flying in haste
And I fear I may not see Arran, evermore
Background of this song
This is a true story about a whisky maker, long ago, who had to move from his home on the Isle of Arran to a new life in the USA. Gunter wanted it included because it seemed to remind him of some of his own life experiences.
Lady Katharina
Katharina mixes potions when the moon is full
She gathers seeds and berries by the fairy pool
She walks the fragrant forest in the cool night air
With the gentle breezes blowing in her hair
She takes spices from the Indies and she mixes them well
Cardamom and pepper and galangal
She pulls the purple berries from the juniper tree
And she makes a magic pot-pourri
Weary travellers were searching for an inn
Instead they stumbled on a palace of gin
There was no princess and there was no queen
There was Lady Katharina
From sunny southern countries she brings the citrus fruits
And forages in forests for earth fl avoured roots
She’s an alchemist an artist, a sorceress as well
And she blesses every potion with a spell
She takes fi nely crafted copper and wine-stained oak
Behind closed doors with mirrors and smoke
With confi dence and patience she plies her art
With all the love she holds in her heart
Weary travellers were searching for an inn
Instead they stumbled on a palace of gin
There was no princess and there was no queen
But there was Lady Katharina
Katharina mixes potions for the sorry and the sad
With skills that she learned from her wizard dad
If all the things we make were made with love and grace
Then the world would be a happier place
Katharina mixes potions when the moon is full
She gathers seeds and berries by the fairy pool
She walks the fragrant forest in the cool night air
With the gentle breezes blowing in her hair
Weary travellers were searching for an inn
Instead they stumbled on a palace of gin
There was no princess and there was no queen
But there was Lady Katharina
There was Lady Katharina
Background of this song
Gunter’s daughter, Katharina, helps in the business in many ways,
but she has had particular responsibility for devising the gin recipes.
I imagine her working like an alchemist to create something amazing,
but with love, care and a sprinkling of magic..
Try, Try, Try
The brave Lord was broken, he was in hiding
Sad and down-hearted and weary from riding
He’d fought many battles, his sword arm was sore
Pursued by the enemy
To this distant shore
He’d once been in charge of an army
But now he was lost and alone
Far from his faithful companions
Far from his home
Pain and despair, sorrow and care
His heart in his chest like a stone.
The cave that he slept in was cold and unpleasant
Don’t dwell on the past he thought, only the present
He was watching a spider repairing its web
But each time it jumped
It fell back on its thread
For hours he watched that poor spider
Trying again and again
It seemed so fi ercely determined
Not to give in
At last when it won and its fi ne web was spun
The Lord knew a lesson he’d learned
Try, try, try; never give in
If you can still breathe
You must believe
Believe you can win
And from this encounter, the Lord’s fortunes turned
He re-found his focus and brightly it burned
He rebuilt his army and climbed that steep hill
With blood sweat and tears
And pure strength of will
To battle he rode with his army
To set free his nation again
And you who are weary and broken
Feeling the pain
In darkness you grope, but don’t give up hope
For sunshine comes after the rain
Try, try, try
Never give in
If you can still breathe
If you can still move
If you can still think
You must believe
You must believe you can win
Background of this song
When I asked Gunter to tell me his philosophy about life and business, he said ‘Try, try, try’. Certainly he has faced many challenges in life, but has come through because of his determination, focus and hard work. This somehow reminded me of the hardships faced by Robert the Bruce in his long struggle to keep Scotland free from English domination.
All Robin Laing Albums
A Beautiful Journey
Embark on a Beautiful Journey with Tales from a Unique Friendship. Experience the magic of Scottish folk songs by acclaimed musician, singer, and songwriter, Robin Laing. Dive into the rich tapestry of storytelling through music.