Dunsinane Hill

Album: Curious Ruminant (2025)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Dunsinane Hill is in the Sidlaw Hills near the village of Collace in Perthshire, Scotland. It stands about 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Perth and rises to an elevation of 310 metres (1,020 feet).

    Dunsinane would likely have remained a perfectly anonymous hill, known only to a few sheep and the occasional ambitious hiker, if it weren't for Shakespeare's Macbeth. The Bard set the final act of his dark, brooding Scottish tragedy on this very hill. In the play, Macbeth is given a prophecy that he will remain unvanquished until "Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him." Macbeth assumes he's in the clear. Trees, after all, aren't known for their mobility.

    But the prophecy is fulfilled when Malcolm's army advances on Macbeth's stronghold at Dunsinane, camouflaged with branches cut from Birnam Wood. This tactical bit of horticultural stagecraft marks the beginning of Macbeth's undoing and ultimate defeat.

    This song re-imagines Shakespeare's famous woodland-based military deception.
  • Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson took inspiration for "Dunsinane Hill" from both the Shakespearean drama and his childhood journeys northward by train.

    "As a child, I took the train North to visit my Scottish aunt in Pitlochry, Perthshire," he recalled to The Sun. "We passed through the small town of Dunkeld, which, she explained, was the start of the Scottish Highlands. She also told me of the Oak Forest of nearby Birnam Wood in Shakespeare's Macbeth."
  • Anderson reimagined the Macbeth tale not just as ancient tragedy but as a sly commentary on political betrayal. "Could be Blair and Brown," he mused. "Could be Johnson and Sunak. Could be Corbyn and Starmer." In other words, the real drama isn't just in 11th-century Scotland, it's playing out every day at Westminster, just with slightly less blood.
  • Musically, "Dunsinane Hill" creeps in with a slow tempo and a prominent pairing of accordion and flute, giving it an unmistakable folk-prog flavor. Midway through, a martial rhythm kicks in, conjuring the eerie image of a forest creeping ever closer - a musical homage to Birnam Wood on the march.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Kristian Bush of Sugarland

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.