Caledonia lyrics and chords
Along with the chords, the fingerstyle / picking guitar tab is now added plus the bass. This song was written by singer / songwriter By Dougie MacLean who's doing the singing in the youtube video, and a huge hit for Delores Keane also recorded by Celtic Woman. Caledonia tenor guitar / mandola tab in CGDA now added. Scottish Lyrics And Chords . The ukulele chords are included. Recently recorded by Rapalje. Also by Irish country singer Nathan Carter. Caledonia tin whistle notes and sheet music
I[G] don't know if[D] you can see
The [G]changes that have come [C]over me
In these[G] last few days I've[D] been afraid
That [G]I might drift a[C]way
I've been[G] telling old stories, [D]singing songs
That[G] make me think about[C] where I've come from
[G]That's the reason[D] why I seem
So[G] far away to[C]day
[G]Let me tell you [C]that I love you
That I[G] think about you[C] all the time
Cale[G]donia, you're calling me, now I'm going home
But if I should become a[C] stranger
Know that[G] it would make me[C] more than sad
Cale[G]donia's been everything I've[C] ever[G] had
Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind
Now I'm sitting here before the fire
The empty room, the forest choir
The flames have cooled, don't get any higher
They've withered, now they've gone
But I'm steady thinking, my way is clear
And I know what I will do tomorrow
When hands have shaken, the kisses float
Then I will disappear
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had
The [G]changes that have come [C]over me
In these[G] last few days I've[D] been afraid
That [G]I might drift a[C]way
I've been[G] telling old stories, [D]singing songs
That[G] make me think about[C] where I've come from
[G]That's the reason[D] why I seem
So[G] far away to[C]day
[G]Let me tell you [C]that I love you
That I[G] think about you[C] all the time
Cale[G]donia, you're calling me, now I'm going home
But if I should become a[C] stranger
Know that[G] it would make me[C] more than sad
Cale[G]donia's been everything I've[C] ever[G] had
Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind
Now I'm sitting here before the fire
The empty room, the forest choir
The flames have cooled, don't get any higher
They've withered, now they've gone
But I'm steady thinking, my way is clear
And I know what I will do tomorrow
When hands have shaken, the kisses float
Then I will disappear
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had
The youtube video is by Dougie MacLean who is also the man who wrote the song. He wrote it while doing a spot of busking in Brittany with a couple of Irish fellas. If your a guitar player and want to play it like Dougie does, well he places capo on the 4th fret and plays open C Tuning (CGCGCE) Copyright 1982 Plant Life Music Ltd
CALEDONIA 3/4 (Celtic Thunder) (Capo on 3rd fret)
(D)I don’t know if (A)you can see, The (D)changes (Hm7)that have come (G)over me(D)In these last few days, I’ve (A)been afraid, That (D)I might (Hm7)drift (G)away(D)I’ve been tellin’ stories, (A)singing songs, That (D)made me (Hm7)think, about (G)where I’ve come from (D)And that’s the reason (A)why I seem (D)so far (Hm7)away (G)today.
Chorus:
(D)Let me tell you that I (A)love youAnd I (D)think about you (Hm7)all the (G)timeCaledonia you’re (D)calling me, now I’m (A)goin’ (D)homeBut if I should become a (A)strangerKnow that (D)it would make me (Hm7)more than (G)sadCaledonia’s been (A)everything I’ve ever (D)had.
I have moved, and I’ve kept on movin’, Proved the points that I needed provin’I Lost the friends that I needed losin’, Found others on the wayI’ve kissed the girls and left them crying, Stolen dreams, yes there’s no denyingI‘ve traveled hard sometimes with conscience Flyin’, somewhere in the wind
Chorus in C twice:
(C)Let me tell you that I (G)love youAnd I (C)think about you (Am7)all the (F)timeCaledonia you’re (C)calling me, now I’m (G)goin’ (C)homeBut if I should become a (G)strangerKnow that (C)it would make me (Am7)more than (F)sadCaledonia’s been (G)everything I’ve ever (C)had.
(D)I don’t know if (A)you can see, The (D)changes (Hm7)that have come (G)over me(D)In these last few days, I’ve (A)been afraid, That (D)I might (Hm7)drift (G)away(D)I’ve been tellin’ stories, (A)singing songs, That (D)made me (Hm7)think, about (G)where I’ve come from (D)And that’s the reason (A)why I seem (D)so far (Hm7)away (G)today.
Chorus:
(D)Let me tell you that I (A)love youAnd I (D)think about you (Hm7)all the (G)timeCaledonia you’re (D)calling me, now I’m (A)goin’ (D)homeBut if I should become a (A)strangerKnow that (D)it would make me (Hm7)more than (G)sadCaledonia’s been (A)everything I’ve ever (D)had.
I have moved, and I’ve kept on movin’, Proved the points that I needed provin’I Lost the friends that I needed losin’, Found others on the wayI’ve kissed the girls and left them crying, Stolen dreams, yes there’s no denyingI‘ve traveled hard sometimes with conscience Flyin’, somewhere in the wind
Chorus in C twice:
(C)Let me tell you that I (G)love youAnd I (C)think about you (Am7)all the (F)timeCaledonia you’re (C)calling me, now I’m (G)goin’ (C)homeBut if I should become a (G)strangerKnow that (C)it would make me (Am7)more than (F)sadCaledonia’s been (G)everything I’ve ever (C)had.
| calidonia-guitar-tab-with-chords.pdf |
The PDF file has the full guitar tab with the chords included.
Above is the standard fingerstyle guitar tab.
Below is the tenor guitar / mandola tab in CGDA tuning.
Below is the tenor guitar / mandola tab in CGDA tuning.
Caledonia bass guitar tab in the key of A Major.
The songwriter, Dougie McLean talks about the writing of Calidonia.
I had the kind of beginnings of the song and I remember finishing off on a beach in Brittany and we were all staying in a youth hostel and I came back to the rest the guys were there we were all getting a bit homesick by that time you know, and I remember playing it to the guys and their youth hostel about two o'clock in the morning or something.
It was the final straw we all got the train home the next day, you know and we that was living back to Ireland and I went back to Scotland. So yeah it was a genuine me homesick song and I never thought anything more of it after writing it. It just wasn't one of the songs I write you know. I write lots of songs but it's been fascinating to watch over years.
It become something more than gesture to the be song that it was when I when I wrote it the first time I performed it was really--it lesson was in a West Berlin.I was living in Germany and that was when the wall was still up and I remember my late dear friend Alvin Roberts who I was there was the joy I was working with.
We did a lot of traditional stuff, but I was sneaking a few of my own songs into the set and I remember we've decided to sing Caledonia and because there's a German audience and it went down really really well you know. I was going well we'll keep that one in the set list you know but this was for an audience so even then it must have had something inside it you know.
A sense of belonging that they even that the German audience had related to you know they they couldn't have they couldn't have been really into has been Scottish but it's, I think that's one of the it's a huge song in Ireland, and and people that all over Europe and even in America. So it's more to do with that sense of
belonging you know I have it then particularly Scottish you know which I think has made it become popular it's fascinating for me to to see one of the songs that I wrote become part of common culture like that you know and a great thrill to be asked to sing it humiliate that I hug many yeah that's an important time of the year and it's a nice to sing
it alongside you know all I'm saying and it's it's always been fascinating for me to to watch the the life of that little song you know and how it's used up weddings and funerals and things from that and it's quite mysterious how how people will take a song like that no to themselves and use it in their everyday lives like lately
do so I was open I'm doubling my time with my kids when they were young and and there we went on the tone and we're in Temple Bar I think it was a nothing and there was a rock band playing it and they and then we went back to the hotel will oversteer and from the nightcap and there was about 30 bank clerks having their annual Christmas NATO and singing
Irish songs and few VA refreshments and my daughter who's 16 she told me said it would be funny dad at the San Caledonia you know and about 10 minutes later this lady jumps up on the table and you know about the top of her voice and sang Caledonia and she didn't know I was sitting in the corner I never said you know but it was lovely you know and I
was coming up fantastic you know that you know that something that I made one in my in in my 20s would be being song at this at this party and I think what happens when you're a young I mean it's the words are very simple and I think when you're very young sometimes can capture some kind of real honesty in your writing that you lose when you get
a bit although you know you've got all the baggage of life and you start to get you had a little ethics start to become a bit more complicated and a bit more kind of silly bill but I think there's something about when you're the songs that you write when you're in you can only get a early 20s you know you might just touch something that's special and
you don't know what it is but I think Caledonia did.
I had the kind of beginnings of the song and I remember finishing off on a beach in Brittany and we were all staying in a youth hostel and I came back to the rest the guys were there we were all getting a bit homesick by that time you know, and I remember playing it to the guys and their youth hostel about two o'clock in the morning or something.
It was the final straw we all got the train home the next day, you know and we that was living back to Ireland and I went back to Scotland. So yeah it was a genuine me homesick song and I never thought anything more of it after writing it. It just wasn't one of the songs I write you know. I write lots of songs but it's been fascinating to watch over years.
It become something more than gesture to the be song that it was when I when I wrote it the first time I performed it was really--it lesson was in a West Berlin.I was living in Germany and that was when the wall was still up and I remember my late dear friend Alvin Roberts who I was there was the joy I was working with.
We did a lot of traditional stuff, but I was sneaking a few of my own songs into the set and I remember we've decided to sing Caledonia and because there's a German audience and it went down really really well you know. I was going well we'll keep that one in the set list you know but this was for an audience so even then it must have had something inside it you know.
A sense of belonging that they even that the German audience had related to you know they they couldn't have they couldn't have been really into has been Scottish but it's, I think that's one of the it's a huge song in Ireland, and and people that all over Europe and even in America. So it's more to do with that sense of
belonging you know I have it then particularly Scottish you know which I think has made it become popular it's fascinating for me to to see one of the songs that I wrote become part of common culture like that you know and a great thrill to be asked to sing it humiliate that I hug many yeah that's an important time of the year and it's a nice to sing
it alongside you know all I'm saying and it's it's always been fascinating for me to to watch the the life of that little song you know and how it's used up weddings and funerals and things from that and it's quite mysterious how how people will take a song like that no to themselves and use it in their everyday lives like lately
do so I was open I'm doubling my time with my kids when they were young and and there we went on the tone and we're in Temple Bar I think it was a nothing and there was a rock band playing it and they and then we went back to the hotel will oversteer and from the nightcap and there was about 30 bank clerks having their annual Christmas NATO and singing
Irish songs and few VA refreshments and my daughter who's 16 she told me said it would be funny dad at the San Caledonia you know and about 10 minutes later this lady jumps up on the table and you know about the top of her voice and sang Caledonia and she didn't know I was sitting in the corner I never said you know but it was lovely you know and I
was coming up fantastic you know that you know that something that I made one in my in in my 20s would be being song at this at this party and I think what happens when you're a young I mean it's the words are very simple and I think when you're very young sometimes can capture some kind of real honesty in your writing that you lose when you get
a bit although you know you've got all the baggage of life and you start to get you had a little ethics start to become a bit more complicated and a bit more kind of silly bill but I think there's something about when you're the songs that you write when you're in you can only get a early 20s you know you might just touch something that's special and
you don't know what it is but I think Caledonia did.
Dougie Mclean songwriter Caledonia
