The Road by George Donaldson | Teen Ink

The Road by George Donaldson

May 19, 2015
By Anonymous

" The Road" by Scottish singer George Donaldson is the third and last album from him. He started working on it early last year (2014) as a "surprise" for his fans but sadly he passed away suddenly before he completed the album.  Before his passing he did manage to get the vocals recorded for the songs and the some of the musical arrangements also. After his passing, his with Carolyn started to work on the album to complete George's "surprise" for his fans and as a tribute to him. His daughter Sarah, plays the fiddle and Carolyn had her be on the album for one of the songs which is "How Long Will I Love You." When Sarah was younger George used to sing this song to her and she would dance to the tune of it.
Every song on this album meant a lot to George. This album showcases all of George's favorite songs that he sang throughout the years as a soloist and meant a lot to him. " Ordinary Man" is a song about a family man who works in a factory but the factory ends up shutting down and he has to look for a new job to support his family. This song relates to George because before joining the group Celtic Thunder in 2007 he worked in a factory for about 20 years and there were a lot of people including some people that he knew that were being laid off from factories. 
He included "Far Away in Australia" because he loved the country a lot. Before he joined Celtic Thunder he was actually planning for a trip there but didn't get to go though. But, one day he actually got to go there for a tour in Celtic Thunder.
He also included a Irish song called " The Lakes of Pontchartrain." About a boy/man loving this Creole girl in New Orleans but when he asked her to marry him she refused saying that she has a love out at sea and she shall wait for him to come back.
Also, he included a few other songs which I don't really know why he included them though: "Bright Blue Rose," "The Leaving of Liverpool," and "The Leaving of Nancy." I think that they are all beautiful songs though.
Another song that he included is "Boston Rose." He chose that song out of the fondness that he had for the town of Boston where he spent a lot of time at.
" Wild Mountain Thyme" is another song that he included in his album. It's a wonderful Scottish song that is one of the most beautiful Scottish songs that I've heard. It also goes by the name "Will You Go Lassie Go."
"The Town I Loved So Well" is another song that he included in the album. He included this song because it is one of his dad's favorite songs. One night his dad woke him up and all of his other siblings and to watch Phil Coulter sing the song on tv. One day he will eventually meet Phil when he auditioned for Celtic Thunder. Phil was one of the two people behind the group.
He also put "The Streets of London" on his album. It's a song that he and his wife learned in primary school. It's also possibly one of the first chords that he learned to play on the guitar.
The last song on the album is the only song on the album he wrote himself "The Road That Leads You Home." He wrote that song for his mom after his dad passed away in a way to comfort her. It's written as a  letter from his dad to his mom on his passing.
Every song on the album is very special in their own way and I love every single one of them. They are all of my favorites now. I highly recommend that you listen to this amazing album. You can get it from CD Baby or Itunes. 


The author's comments:

I've always loved George ever since I first saw him with Celtic Thunder back 7 years ago in 2008. I got a lot of the information in my review from the CD booklet which has Carolyn's letter in it. His two other albums are " The White Rose" and " The World on my Mind."


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This article has 3 comments.


on Jun. 8 2015 at 4:46 pm
celticstudygirl PLATINUM, Vermilion, Other
23 articles 2 photos 44 comments
Thank you for your lovely comment.

on Jun. 8 2015 at 11:51 am
ABIGAIL.S PLATINUM, Trenton, Ohio
37 articles 3 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
"only you can start a change you want"

Great review and I love the fact that you go into detail on how special the this album was, not only to his fans but to his family and to himself as well.

on Jun. 2 2015 at 12:23 am
coolstudygirl GOLD, Vermilion, Ohio
16 articles 0 photos 38 comments
I love this lovely review that you wrote about dear George's last album. It truly is special for all of us who are fans of him or family/close friend of his.