# Bagpipes and Amazing Grace **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267 "2016-03-17T15:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/1 "2016-03-17T15:37:44Z")
Is there any reason 99 times out of 100 times that I hear bagpipes being played, Amazing Grace is the song? In my facebook feed today, someone posted a video of a “REALLY COOL BAGPIPE PERFORMANCE!!” I said to myself, “Bet it’s Amazing Grace.” And a-yup. What’s the story behind this. I can’t think of any other instrument being tied to a song so strongly as this (perhaps the piano and Chopsticks, but that’s actually a waltz written for the piano; Amazing Grace wasn’t written for bagpipes, AFAIK.) ---
**Author:** ![Seren359](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Seren359](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seren359)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/2 "2016-03-17T15:59:16Z")
I always thought it was “Scotland the brave” or “Flowers of the forest” Perhaps yours is an American thing? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/3 "2016-03-17T16:00:00Z")
Perhaps it’s the only tune commonly played on the pipes that’s recognizable to folks who aren’t pipe aficionados? _Laird McSwarthy’s March of Bloody Victory_\* is equally popular with pipers but I bet you can’t hum it from memory. _Amazing Grace_ is also a traditional funeral tune and that’s a lot of the context in which ordinary non-Scottish folks encounter pipe music. - Totally made-up example. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/4 "2016-03-17T16:06:55Z")
Here is from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace#Recorded_versions) > [@](#): > > Although [Judy] Collins used it as a catharsis for her opposition to the Vietnam War, two years after her rendition, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, senior Scottish regiment of the British Army, recorded an instrumental version featuring a bagpipe soloist accompanied by a pipe and drum band. The tempo of their arrangement was slowed to allow for the bagpipes, but it was based on Collins’: it began with a bagpipe solo introduction similar to her lone voice, then it was accompanied by the band of bagpipes and horns, whereas in her version she is backed up by a chorus. It hit number 1 in the UK singles chart in April 1972, spending 24 weeks total on the charts, topped the RPM national singles chart in Canada for three weeks, and rose as high as number 11 in the U.S. It is also a controversial instrumental, as it combined pipes with a military band. The Pipe Major of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards was summoned to Edinburgh Castle and chastised for demeaning the bagpipes. Funeral processions for killed police, fire, and military personnel have often played a bagpipes version ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/5 "2016-03-17T16:22:22Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Here is from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace#Recorded_versions) Well, there I go. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/6 "2016-03-17T16:29:20Z")
It could be that the bagpipes (specifically the Highland Bagpipe, the Scottish one - there are different types of bagpipes) are somewhat limited in range - basically meaning they can’t play very many notes. So the songs they play are limited to just those few notes. Amazing Grace is a song that doesn’t use very many notes, so it’s more or less easily played on the bagpipes. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/7 "2016-03-17T16:36:23Z")
What the hell life are you leading that you’ve heard Amazing Grace on bagpipes 99 times? Guantanamo would be better… ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/8 "2016-03-17T16:49:20Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > What the hell life are you leading that you’ve heard Amazing Grace on bagpipes 99 times? > > Guantanamo would be better… He will not crack and he will not confess! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/9 "2016-03-17T16:53:58Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > What the hell life are you leading that you’ve heard Amazing Grace on bagpipes 99 times? > > Guantanamo would be better… I got 99 problems and a bagpipe is every single one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/10 "2016-03-17T16:59:07Z")
Next time you hear “Amazing Grace” just insert the lyrics from the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song into the music, and sing along. They fit perfectly. Makes it much more tolerable to sit thru yet another rendition of it. AG lyrics into GI music works great too. Try it at home! Or check it out on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/11 "2016-03-17T17:03:58Z")
For what it’s worth, Mr. Athena, who plays the bagpipes, absolutely HATES playing Amazing Grace. But he’s asked to play it all the time. > [@](#): > > It could be that the bagpipes (specifically the Highland Bagpipe, the Scottish one - there are different types of bagpipes) are somewhat limited in range - basically meaning they can’t play very many notes. So the songs they play are limited to just those few notes. Amazing Grace is a song that doesn’t use very many notes, so it’s more or less easily played on the bagpipes. It’s true that bagpipes are limited in the notes they play, but there are hundreds and thousands of songs for them. No need to keep hearing the same one over and over and over. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/12 "2016-03-17T17:15:26Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Next time you hear “Amazing Grace” just insert the lyrics from the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song into the music, and sing along. They fit perfectly. Makes it much more tolerable to sit thru yet another rendition of it. > > AG lyrics into GI music works great too. Try it at home! Or check it out on youtube. That is because Amazing Grace and Gilligan’s Island are both in Ballad Meter, a very common poetic and musical meter. So-called “Common Meter” is a subset of Ballad Meter. Here are some of the many lyrics that fit Ballad Meter: The Australian National Anthem Auld Lang Syne Most of the poetry of Emily Dickenson O Little Town of Bethlehem Joy to the World Many other Christmas carols Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven The House of the Rising Sun Now, to blow your mind, here’s [Amazing Grace to the tune of House of the Rising Sun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO2px91IheQ). ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/13 "2016-03-17T17:19:57Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Is there any reason 99 times out of 100 times that I hear bagpipes being played, Amazing Grace is the song?) Because the accordion already claimed _Lady of Spain_ and won’t share it? ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/14 "2016-03-17T17:24:33Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > For what it’s worth, Mr. Athena, who plays the bagpipes, absolutely HATES playing Amazing Grace. But he’s asked to play it all the time. As do I. As am I. But I can rock a lot of “Ode to Joy,” though. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/15 "2016-03-17T17:32:41Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/16 "2016-03-17T17:34:34Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > … > It’s true that bagpipes are limited in the notes they play, but there are hundreds and thousands of songs for them. No need to keep hearing the same one over and over and over. Specifically, highland pipes play a pentatonic scale - the first, second, third, fifth and sixth of a major scale. IIRC, they play 9 notes - almost a 2 octave range. Google about for “pentatonic melodies”. “Stairway to Heaven” for instance. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/17 "2016-03-17T17:38:23Z")
It’s considered such a trope that Scotty played _Amazing Grace_ for Spock’s memorial service in _The Wrath of Khan_. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/18 "2016-03-17T17:48:20Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > That is because Amazing Grace and Gilligan’s Island are both in Ballad Meter, a very common poetic and musical meter. So-called “Common Meter” is a subset of Ballad Meter. [Previous thread on that topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675269) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/19 "2016-03-17T17:59:51Z")
They say the Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scots in 500AD, but the Scots still haven’t got the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267/20 "2016-03-17T18:04:12Z")
It seems like some of this has been covered on the Straight Dope. Amazing Grace is a popular American hymn, especially at funerals. It was often played at police funerals on uilleann pipes because so many American policemen were Irish. At some point, a switch to bagpipes was made because they are louder than uilleann pipes. Also, it was in Braveheart, so that’s part of the feedback loop. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagpipes-and-amazing-grace/749267.md?page=2)