There are not many words in Mr Lightfoot's songs that lead us to his Scottish Forefathers, but there are an interesting two lines in "Nous Vivons Ensemble"
" On the Plains of Abraham, when they sent the lamb to die".
Well I guess we all know that the "Plains of Abraham", refer to the "Battle of Quebec"
(1759), but who or what is the Lamb.
In 1746 the British ( including General Wolfe )defeated the Army of Bonny Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden
(Scotland), following which the Prince and a large number of his followers fled into exile in France.
After a number of years, these warriors were allowed to return home on the condition that they joined Wolfe's army to fight the French in the New World.
Given the number of years they spent in France they spoke the language very well, which was very handy as the battle wore on.
Wolfe used the Scots as his front line troops, saying that it would be no great loss if they were killed. Thus they were like "Lambs to slaughter" at the head of any charge.
Therefore the "lamb" referred to in the song are the Scottish Veterans of the Battle of Culloden.
Incidently many of these Scots returned home after the war, collected their families and returned to settle in Nova Scotia. Many of these families subsequently moved on to Northern Ontario in search of wealth from the gold mines, maybe this is the route taken by the Lightfoots from their home in Scotland to a new life in Ontario. ??
Just a thought !!
Keep Smiling
Ron.
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