Susannes Folksong-Notizen
[1984:] In 1961 an event occurred which induced an immediate reaction and which spawned some of the best protest songs of this century: The American submarine depot ship Proteus, along with smaller ships, sailed into the Holy Loch near Dunoon. "Polaris" was the name of the submarine-launched ballistic missile (A-2) which it carried. Public hostility came from a wide cross-section of thought: the Peace Movement, spear-headed by the C.N.D. (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), the Committee for Non-Violent Disarmament, church people and Quakers, the Committee of 100, and members of at least three political parties - Labour, Communist and Scottish Nationalist. 'The Scotsman', 22/5/61, reported fully on the first of the larger demonstrations. About a thousand people marched from Dunoon to the Holy Loch where they split into two groups, one to take part in the seaborne attack on the Proteus and the other to demonstrate on shore. A bonfire was lit on the beach and Scottish C.N.D.-ers stayed for an all-night vigil. (Those arrested were later released, but many were fined.) (Munro, Revival 68)
Adam McNaughtan found the strong influence of socialist politics came as "rather a shock ... with my good Church of Scotland non-political upbringing [...] so being a thrawn kin' o' character, some of the early stuff I wrote was on the other side, e.g. Ye canny ban Polaris when it's raining and other ditties. I've a bit of the rebel in me ... the establishment in folk song clubs was the Left, and if anything that turned me the other way." (Munro, Revival 78)
[1994:] But even among the Eskimos [as the protesters called] themselves there were some who had reservations about all of this, and when one of the demos turned out to be a miserable failure - only forty folk turned up to be arrested due to bad weather - this guy had the nerve to turn the Eskimos' own weapons on them, taking the micky out of fiasco. The Eskimos got their own back by adopting the song as one of their own favourites. This evil person is with us today. - Rotten McNaughtan, stand up and explain yourself! (Gordon McCulloch, The Eskimo Republic - show at Glasgow Folk Festival)
Different performers look for different audience reactions. Some people would give their right arm for a standing ovation. Others go for the more immediate reward of laughter. I've always favoured stunned disbelief. (Adam McNaughtan, The Eskimo Republic - show at Glasgow Folk Festival)
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