ADD: Telling the Bees (Claire Beorn Norman)

Subject: Telling the Bees
From: SINSULL
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 09:11 PM

So very strange - a new baby. And as I was grilling a steak, a bee flew arounfd the stove. No idea where he came from but I told him about Baby Aiden and how happy I was that he was finally here. The bee is gone.

Subject: RE: Telling the Bees
From: Leadfingers
Date: 10 Feb 12 - 09:26 PM

Claire Bear's song is well worth a look ! I am working on it myself

Subject: RE: Telling the Bees
From: My guru always said
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 03:28 AM

Welcome to Aiden!

I suppose the whole world knows now that you've told a Bee...

Subject: RE: Telling the Bees
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 08:27 AM

The conventional folklore relates to domestic Apiarists, rather than random insects who just happen to be passing through. I've known examples of this into my lifetime - family bee-keepers who'd share with the bees their innermost thoughts & news, insisting that bees have a curious nature that needs to be kept up to date. The sweeter the bee, the sweeter the honey; the better the news, the sweeter honey too, as one old lady told me once in Yorkshire, although she also reckoned the bees would sweeten the honey in bad times too...

More here: Telling the Bees

Subject: RE: Telling the Bees
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 08:28 AM

And not forgetting the darkly crafted folk of Telling the Bees - the reason why I opened this thread...

Subject: RE: Telling the Bees
From: Arkie
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 04:11 PM

I recently read Sharyn McCrumb's novel, "She Walks These Hills" and there is a character who is sort of a 'keeper of the old ways' who makes a point when an old friend dies to tell the bees of the death of their keeper less the bees leave the hives. Her purpose was to retain the bees so they could be passed on to someone else. I believe the custom also included draping a black ribbon about the hives.

There was also an episode in "Lark Rise to Candleford" when Twister was thought to be dead, his wife Queenie made a point of telling the bees. I asked a friend who was once married to a local beekeeper whose family has been traced back to Northern Ireland and play music brought to this country by their ancestors about the custom. To her knowledge it is not practiced any longer.

Subject: ADD: Telling the Bees (ClaireBear)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Sep 22 - 05:56 PM

TELLING THE BEES
(Music: Jonathan Berger ; Lyrics: Claire Beorn Norman | Jeni Beilharz
© 2010 Claire Beorn Norman)

My father had this land from his father ten times over.
He taught me all he knew to help it thrive:
The plowing, planting, harvesting, the cutting of the clover,
The shepherding, the tending of the hive.

Chorus: (He said)
You have to tell the bees of a birth or death or wedding.
If you don't tell the bees, then they'll move on.
The land must have its bees for the pollen that wants spreading,
But who will tell the bees when I am gone?

I married sweet Louise as the summertime was coming,
And when the wedding guests had gone away
I led her to the fields where the gentle bees were humming,
And we told the hive to bless our wedding day.

In time there came three children to share our toil and pleasure;
First Andrew and then Sarah and then Jane.
On the day that each was born, to the fields we'd take our treasure
And the bees were first to know each baby's name.

But when the last was born my Louise grew thin and weary
And her breathing grew more labored with each dawn.
One chilly day as autumn waned we trod the fields so dreary
To tell the bees my sweet Louise was gone.

Chorus: (For) You have to tell the bees ... .

When Andrew came of age he could not stand to tarry;
He wed and fled to farm a distant shore.
It rained the day I told the bees my son so bright and merry
Would come to tend these muddy fields no more.

Our Sarah took a lad and would soon become a mother.
The land supplied once more a wedding feast
And Jane and I were left behind to plough and sow and gather,
To tend the sodden fields and tell the bees.

When I told the bees that Jane was drowned, I scarce could speak for sorrow,
And sorrow soon will be the end of me.
The neighbors all will come to church to mourn my death tomorrow,
But none of them will think to tell the bees.

Chorus: (Oh) You have to tell the bees ... .

www.dogwatch.us

(An English folklore book I read in childhood described this belief, which resurfaced years later on Mudcat. My sad tale was inevitable, really. Mad genius Jon Berger kindly provided melody and fiddly bits. ~ Claire Beorn Norman)
------------
Jacqui Morse sings Claire Beorn Norman's song "Telling The Bees" (© 2010) at the 2011 FSGW Getaway Sunday night concert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQbKdlTLeLM

2013 performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrxIGgVOsd4

---

Slight change/addition to author names made at request of author Jeni Beilharz, who went by ClaireBear for years. 9/2022 ---mudelf

Subject: RE: ADD: Telling the Bees (Claire Beorn Norman)
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 18 Sep 22 - 11:14 AM

Not that obscure at all. Most of the newspapers last week told the story of the Royal beehives being told of the death of the Queen, and draped with mourning bands.
One example Daily Mirror, Here

Subject: RE: ADD: Telling the Bees (Claire Beorn Norman)
From: Stewie
Date: 19 Sep 22 - 09:48 PM

There is an English band with this title. I have one of their albums - 'Steer by the stars' - which is not without its charm. You can listen to their albums here:

Click

They have a song of this title on their 'Untie the wind' album:

Telling the bees

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: ADD: Telling the Bees (Claire Beorn Norman)
From: rich-joy
Date: 20 Sep 22 - 07:23 PM

Thanks for the links, Stewie; rather like them!

I certainly "told the bees" when my Mother passed in West Aussie in 2013 and she had certainly followed that old custom.

She had companion bees that had long lived in a ceramic Cambodian elephant, amongst the large straggling Rosemary bush in her herb garden.
Unfortunately, a coupla years before she died, they had also colonised inside the wall of the sleepout at the rear of the house, and being sheeted with old asbestos, it was a tricky situation.

AFAIK, they are still there on the premises, despite us "asking" the bees to vacate, a number of times!!!

Cheers! R-J

Subject: RE: ADD: Telling the Bees (Claire Beorn Norman)
From: Sian H
Date: 22 Sep 22 - 01:31 PM

I sing a lovely song that mentions this too - it's The Bee Boy's Song (poem) by Kipling which Peter Bellamy set to a tune. https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poem/poems_beeboy.htm

Subject: RE: ADD: Telling the Bees (Claire Beorn Norman)
From: rich-joy
Date: 16 Nov 22 - 04:31 AM

By-the-By, those pesky Bees are at it again on Qld's Sunshine Coast, near where I live :

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-16/feral-bees-monster-hive-house-rescue/101649364
"Apiarist amazed after cutting out second 'monster' bee hive from Sunshine Coast home"

And, I have grown very fond of the song "Telling the Bees" that Stewie linked to above. One day, (if I ever have nothing to do :), I'll have to transcribe the lyrics and post here .....

R-J