SCOTS have been left in stitches after a man bearing a strong resemblance to Prince Harry offered up his operative rendition of a song about midges in celebration of St. Andrew’s Day.
Michael Gibson belted out the lyrics to Kenneth McKellar’s The Midges whilst clad in a kilt, waistcoat and bow tie alongside pianist Sergey Rybin at the Royal Opera House in London.
The duo’s cover of the famous Scottish tune comes complete with references to historical events from the country’s past, and comparisons of midges to piranhas.
Video footage begins with a large animated black midge flying towards Gibson, who jokingly bats it away in frustration.
He sings: “The midges, the midges, I’m no gonnae kid ye’s, the midges is really the limit. With teeth like piranhas, they drive you bananas, if you let them get under your simmit [vest].”
“The Lord put the Garden of Eden on Earth, and it’s north of the [River] Tweed we believe. Aye, Scotland’s the place and the whole human race started off with MacAdam and Eve.
“In six days or under he finished this wonder, except for the Forth and Tay bridges. But always a bloke for a practical joke, he made Scotland the home of the midges.”
Michael then repeats the chorus accompanied by Sergey’s whimsical piano playing before moving onto the next verse.
He sings: “Back in 1314, the proud Edward was keen to take Scotland into his care. But he made a U-turn when he reached Bannockburn just a few weeks before Glasgow Fair.”
“For the midges let loose by King Robert the Bruce, straight into the English they tore.”
He gestures weeping as he jests: “So, they ran off in tears and for seven hundred years, they’ve been blocking the M74.”
The following verse hears Michael sing: “Now never forget, when the sun’s going to set, and the midges arise on Loch Eck. Like the vampire you see played by Christopher Lee, they will give you a pain in the neck.”
“You can smack them and whack them, in vain you’ll attack them for they know every move that you make. If you manage to kill yin another half million are ready tae come tae the wake.”
Michael wraps the song up with a last grand chorus, accompanied by three animated black midges overhead, before he jokingly crushes one against the piano at the end of his final operatic note.
In a final grand chorus, Gibson belts out the lyrics as three photoshopped black midges wheeze in-sync with the piano.
The Royal Opera House took to social media yesterday to share the hilarious video, writing: “Happy St. Andrew’s Day to our Scottish followers.
“??What better way to celebrate than with Michael Gibson from our Jette Parker Artist Programme, accompanied by Sergey Rybin, with their rendition of The Midges by Kenneth McKellar.”
The post received over 4,380 likes and dozens of comments from Scots relating to the irritation of midges – many of whom also felt that redheaded Michael resembles Prince Harry.
One person wrote: “He’s right, though.”
Another said: “Brilliant. He looks like Harry.”
A third person commented: “It’s like a Scottish version of Pigeons in the Park.”
Another added: “The way I thought, ‘Wait, why is there a giant mosquito over Harry?’”
A fifth wrote: “Another reason why winter is the best season.”
Midges are common flies often found in the Scottish countryside between May to September.
A common nuisance for many Scots, midges are known for their moderately painful bites in order to extract human blood for reproduction.
The average lifespan of a midge is around 20-30 days.
