The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Dr Doric is on song for Queen’ s Jubilee
Anorth-east musician and film-maker has composed a song to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Don Carney – also known as Dr Doric – was inspired to mark the Queen’s 70 years on the throne in recognition of the “icon” she is.
The retired academic and award-winning filmmaker will perform at jubilee events next week and decided to tell a little of the Queen’s story through a song many can sing along and dance to.
Mr Carney has made hundreds of hours of educational footage on Doric and traditional farming and fishing in the north-east.
Combining his passion for music and preserving heritage, he hopes his song will resonate with people in the area.
The 75-year-old, from Westhill, actually created the tune for God Bless You,
Your Majesty a while ago before coming up with the words more recently.
He said: “I just thought ‘I’m going to see if I can put some words to the tune.’
“The words were dead easy. A part of music is story-telling for me. I just started story-telling in each verse, almost in an incremental way.”
Mr Carney has been passionate about music since he was in his teens, after seeing two guitarists while on a camping holiday in Ullapool.
He got the bug for entertaining, picked up a guitar and can now play several different instruments.
The grandfather-of-two played in a band for 45 years before going solo, describing it as a “fine hobby”.
Admitting he was a definite royalist, the musician said he was excited about the Queen’s big anniversary.
“It’s a huge, huge event,”
he said. “I think what she has done is incredible and a great example to us all because she hasn’t dodged all the terrors of life. She’s had the same ups and downs like everybody else and she’s come through it and kept going.
“She’s just an inspiration to us all at her age as well and the great devotion she’s had for this country and the Commonwealth.”
Performing at a couple of charity events for the jubilee week, Mr Carney said he would wait to see what people’s reaction to the song was.
Mr Carney added: “I’ll just put it into my repertoire and see what people think about it because if they don’t like the words they can still dance to it.
“I tried it out on my family and my wife is my biggest critic – she’s my quality controller – and I sung it to her and she said, ‘Oooh, that’s nae bad’.
“If I get the ‘it’s nae bad’ line from her then it’s good enough for me.
“I think they can take the story that I’m telling about the Queen they can affiliate with it. It’s part of what they know about her as well. I’m sure the feelings within the song will be the feelings that they have for the Queen as well.
“So it’s just a bit of celebration and something significant, you know. Because they’ll never see this again.”