Brigadoon

“The mornin' dew is blinkin' yonder. There's lazy music in the rill,

And all I want to do is wander through the heather on the hill.”

The famous Lerner and Loewe whimsical musical fantasy is about two American tourists, Tommy and Jeff, who wander upon a mysterious Scottish village that materializes from the Highland mists once every hundred years, only to disappear the next day. To the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. They feel that the enchantment is more of a blessing than a curse, as it saved the village from destruction. According to their covenant, no one from Brigadoon may ever leave, or the enchantment will be broken and the site and all its inhabitants will disappear into the mist forever.

Tommy inevitably falls in love with one of the villagers, Fiona, presenting the main conflict of the musical. The problem is that if Tommy stays in the town for more than a day, he can never return home to New York. Not trusting him emotions, Tommy returns home to his fiancée , Jane Ashton, whom he really does not want to marry. In the end, at the last minute, Tommy cancels his wedding and returns to Scotland. In another miracle, because Tommy's love for Fiona is so great, Brigadoon returns for another brief moment to allow Tommy to enter and never return to the outside world.

Allegedly, the name Brigadoon was inspired by a late medieval bridge called Brig o’ Doon, located near Alloway in South Ayreshire, crossing the River Doon. The famous bridge is also the settings for the final verse of Robert Burn’s poem Tamo’Shanter.

Discover the magic and mystery of the Scottish Highlands, and maybe sneak a peek at the famed village of Brigadoon, on your next Celtic Tours Scotland Vacation.