"Clash of the Ash" is the first single from the Scottish

Celtic rock Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been extremely prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundat ...

band

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The line-up during most of the 1980s and 1990s (the band's most succe ...

's thirteenth studio album '' Everything You See'', which was released as a single in 2007. The song is about the sport of

shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

and has become an anthem for the sport. Runrig have previously referenced shinty in the songs "Pride of the Summer" from ''

The Cutter and the Clan ''The Cutter and the Clan'' is the fifth album by the Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig. It was the band's breakthrough album, taking them from cottage industry to the international stage. It was also the first Runrig album to feature keyboard pl ...

'' and "Recovery" from the album of the same name. The song also appeared on the 2013 compilation album ''

Larry Kirwan's Celtic Invasion ''Larry Kirwan's Celtic Invasion'' is a 2013 compilation album of Celtic rock music. The album's tracks were selected by Larry Kirwan: taig, expatriate Irish writer, radio host and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the New York-base ...

''.

Themes

The song is about the sport of shinty and the first verse revolves around a team making their way to an away game, through "straths and glens". Prominent throughout the song is the use of nicknames, which are a common element. The second verse is a portrayal of a game against Kinlochshiel, the only shinty team named in the song in the line: ''But if we do all that and there’s no-one spare''
''Tell me who’s gonna mark the Kinlochshiel Bear.'' This verse refers to various positions on the shinty park as well as the ''sawdust'', a reference to the penalty box aka the "D" which is often marked out with sawdust instead of paint. The final verse references shinty's long history (shared with

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

) which stretches back to ancient

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

history:
And for every fighting Highland man''
''Stand by your brother, die for the clan.'' The song also praises the amateur status of those who play the sport:
''These shinty boys shine like the sun.''
''We don’t play for fame, we don’t play for cash''
''We just play for the glory, and the clash of the ash.''

Live performance history

"Clash of the Ash" was played live at the "Year of the Flood" concert in 2007 featuring

Gary Innes Gary Innes (born 13 December 1980) is a Scottish musician, shinty player, composer and a broadcaster from Spean Bridge, Lochaber, Scotland. He was a founder member of Scottish folk-rock band Mànran. Music Innes has had a professional c ...

. It is usually played towards the end of a concert, it was played live at the "Party on the Moor" concert in 2013 as the 27th song.

References

{{authority control 2007 singles Shinty Scottish songs 2007 songs Sporting songs