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This little ditty has by some unintentional defacto, become my “Magnum Opus” to date. With a good bit over 80,000 hits on You Tube -and having sparked what could be considered some international incident of minor scope, “The Haggis Song” has almost, I stress – almost… gained Yours Truly some marginal if not infamous notoriety in the UK.
I created this little viral piece as it occurred to me that many ethnic culinary treasures are not always considered the beloved “Comfort Foods” central to their ethnicity. To the contrary, many times the world’s remaining populace may find them a bit less than tasty, if not downright gross. This I concluded offered the opportunity for a bit of comedic prodding – and that funky Haggis stuff was just the place to start. (Yes, there are companion pieces in the pipe – stay tuned.)
What I learned in the aftermath of my posting this item to You Tube, was that there is a long-standing international rivalry between Scotland and England over which party has the right to claim Haggis as it’s own. And in many cases that my “Yank” self having brought this to life – yet again… was less than appreciated.
It seems that the English claim to have “invented” Haggis, while the Scots had merely “claimed” it as their own. And, here goes me – unknowingly stoking the fire between two cultures with a long and less-than-loving history. This has made for everything from some fairly salty posts on The Haggis Song You Tube Page, to my first-hand witnessing a pair of traveling exchange students – one English, one Scot, almost coming to a fist-fight after finding out about my video. Yes – I got to see the effects of this debate, up close and personal.
In that they didn’t both turn on me for the endgame, I guess I feel lucky to be here to share the story with you today. I hope you enjoy.
