Top 5 Rock Songs That Feature Bagpipes

Happy National Blow Bagpipes Day everyone!  Hope you're celebrating responsibly.

A fact you probably didn't know about bagpipes is that they did not originate in Scotland as many think. Now before you dispute the fact, remember Scotland was responsible for keeping the instrument alive and making it famous but its origins are disputed among India, Span and Egypt. Though no one knows for sure we owe it to the Scotts for keeping the bagpipes flame lit.

With that we present to you the top 5 Rock songs featuring bagpipes.

5) I'm Shipping Up To Boston - The Dropkick Murphys

The song lyrics of Woody Guthrie were put to music by the Dropkick Murphys and the end result is a romp of Celtic Punk pleasure. The bagpipes enhance the overall Celtic flavor while the tale of a sailor who sets out to find the leg he lost at sea is told.

4) Tomorrow - U2

The bagpipes sets a somber tone at the beginning of this thoughtful piece from U2. The  bagpipes are all but forgotten however by the end when the song finales with some crushing rock.

3) Hair Of The Dog - Nazareth

Lead singer Dan McCafferty uses a blend of bagpipes and talk box in the breakdown portion of the song that oddly never utters the title of the song in its lyrics.

2) Wild Child - Scorpions

The bagpipes are used as an intro to set up the Scorpions "Wild Child" song. They also close the song with a few trailing notes from the bags (that's what the kids are calling bagpipes nowadays).

1) It's a Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock & Roll) - AC/DC

One would logically think that putting Bagpipes in a rock song would make your trip to rock and roll stardom even longer than AC/DC claims it does. But who am I to judge as AC/DC did just fine with their career thanks to this masterpiece.