Island Spinning Song is an arrangement of the traditional Scottish reel Alastair o' the Dun. The lyrics contain a chorus composed of highly rhythmic Gaelic nonsense syllables. Its companion piece, an arrangement of the slow, hauntingly beautiful Scottish melody chosen by ‘Robbie’ Burns to accompany Ae Fond Kiss (soon to be published by earthsongs), his tender poem of unrequited love, completes the Scottish Contrasts suite.
Reels, one of four traditional Scottish dance types (the others being jigs, strathspeys, and waltzes) are found in both sung and instrumental versions. Whichever version, reels are linked with dance, and so should be performed with dance very much in mind.