Subject: The Flooers o' the Forest at MBMonday
From:
GUEST
Date: 29 Sep 12 - 08:21 AM
This week at Murder Ballad Monday, we listen to "The Floo'ers o' the Forest," and remember musically a pivotal day in Scottish history.
Part One -- The Renaissance King : Tom brings us "The Floo'ers o' the Forest," In today's post, we meet a young king haunted by ghosts and driven by a vision of a Renaissance kingdom. The stage is set for the Battle of Flodden, as the contending aspirations of Henry VIII and the call of the "Auld Alliance" drive James IV and thousands of Scots toward the field of battle. Tom provides us with the added benefit of Dick Gaughan's deeply moving performance of this beautiful and haunting song.
Part Two -- Sighing and Moaning : In today's second installment on "The Floo'ers o' the Forest," our man in Edinburgh brings us the story of how a king and his soldiers meet their untimely and tragic end, and how a song is born among those left behind and their descendants. We hear the tune collected by John Skene a hundred years after the battle. Dick Gaughan returns to sing, and Tom shows mercy to those among us whose Scots has grown rusty, with a translation of the words written by Jean Elliot over 250 years after that fateful day.
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sj
