100!

Three unaccompanied songs for week 49 - just for a change - and all of them on a moorland theme.

Queen among the heather is a slightly romanticised account of a socially awkward encounter on the Scottish moors; a popular theme, to judge from the number of variants that exist (e.g. "Down the moor", "Skippin' barfit through the heather").

Now westlin winds is one of Robert Burns's most beautiful poems (a.k.a. "Song composed in August"); all about love and nature and bloodsports (he's in favour of two of these). Call it a topical song (it's not the 12th yet, but it soon will be).

Jake Thackray's Old Molly Metcalfe is about someone else you might meet on the moors; her story doesn't end well.

52 Folk Songs is at http://www.52folksongs.com. To download the albums, go to philedwards.bandcamp.com.