From time to time, folk have written things about me or my songs. Here’s a selection. “Another song pays tribute to the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, while All Jock Tamson’s Bairns are Coming Home, by Steven Clark, welcomes refugees from “Iraq, Zimbabwe, Turkey and Somalia”. Last night, Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: “The… Read More Some Mentions in Dispatches

It’s a strange old pastime, this making songs thing – setting words to music,  then sending them out, like children, off to see the world.  Occasionally, you get a postcard back from some unexpected location, saying: So this is where I’ve ended up!  My song “Coming Home” aka “All Jock Tamson’s Bairns” has turned up… Read More A postcard from Coming Home –

The Darien Adventure was a historic endeavor that took place in the late 17th century. It was an ambitious and ill-fated attempt to establish a Scottish colony in the region of Darien, located in modern-day Panama. The venture was organized by the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, with the goal of… Read More Old Songs, Old Words – Part 4 – The Darien Scheme

Hear the drum, hear the band, we are marching together. Each step’s like a beat of the same mighty heart. Though we hold up our heads, we don’t see where we’re going But we’ll trust in our comrades and all play our part.… Read More Old Songs, Old Words – Number 3 – Hear The Drum

Continuing to post lyrics and some comments for older songs that may have disappeared from other platforms where they were posted. Next up: From Here You Can See Ben Lomond. Glasgow, in many respects is a collection of villages, and the inhabitants have a powerful sense of belonging. Springburn was one of those areas with… Read More Old Songs, Old Words – Number 2 – From Here You Can See Ben Lomond

I’m going to put up lyrics and maybe some thoughts of songs I wrote a while back, and maybe posted up on sites that are now unavailable for various reasons (MySpace, anyone?). The first one is this jumble of only loosely connected images: “Home Again” Home Again Words and music ©Steven Clark Open-toed sandals and… Read More Old Songs, Old Words – Number 1 – Home Again

Steven Clark is a highly regarded songwriter and singer from Glasgow, Scotland.  His songs range across politics, pies, people and places, drawing on local and global events and concerns in an eclectic mix of styles and moods. The result is a strongly Scottish flavoured assortment of highly entertaining and memorable songs, powerfully influenced by the… Read More Steven Clark – songs and singing

Originally posted on IN MA FAIR TOON:
Street singers in song: Blind Hughie and Blind Mattie Dundee’s history echoes with the sound of song and music. It was common for people to buy song sheets and chapbooks from ‘hawkers,’ who would advertise their wares by performing: singing, or with humorous, spontaneous patter. (In Dundee, the…

TLDR version: A new song, in Scots and English, “Aa Ae Oo” There’s an old “joke” that it’s possible to have an entire conversation in Scots, without using consonants, providing you’re talking about wool. My dad was fond of this story, which is where I first heard it. A man goes to buy some fabric,… Read More Who Needs Consonants?

Note: This is longish, but the TLDR version is: you guys are great. Being a folky is not a mass-market thing, it’s alternative, it’s off-the-beaten-track, not mainstream. If you’ve taken the folky path, and been inclined that way for a while, you know that it has waxed and waned in popularity, but you know fine… Read More Where did all these nice people come from?