The song is about the Scottish Jacobite uprising of 1715, and how ineffectual John Erskine, Lord of Mar (sometimes considered the Eleventh Earl of Mar) was in this campaign. It also pokes at James III and VIII (the Old Pretender) as a bit of a sissy boy ("Couldn't even lift a sword."), the French, for sending him to Scotland in inadequate ships ("cockleshell boat").
All in all, Tony Banks has great fun reviling English aristocrats and the whole notion of monarchy in general. The song is one of my favorite Genesis tunes (in fact i just played it while looking for the link below) , and I feel Wind & Wuthering is the best Genesis album of all, closely followed by Trick of a Tail. But that's another post... ;-)
The song is about the Scottish Jacobite uprising of 1715, and how ineffectual John Erskine, Lord of Mar (sometimes considered the Eleventh Earl of Mar) was in this campaign. It also pokes at James III and VIII (the Old Pretender) as a bit of a sissy boy ("Couldn't even lift a sword."), the French, for sending him to Scotland in inadequate ships ("cockleshell boat").
All in all, Tony Banks has great fun reviling English aristocrats and the whole notion of monarchy in general. The song is one of my favorite Genesis tunes (in fact i just played it while looking for the link below) , and I feel Wind & Wuthering is the best Genesis album of all, closely followed by Trick of a Tail. But that's another post... ;-)
Check http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/lennich/jacobite.htm for a detailed history lesson.