Hello @music-community, @hive, @music, and all fellow musicians and music lovers.

This is @danaidhbee posting to you from Scotland today with a Murder Ballad called “Willow Garden”. I will sing it A Capella with a violin/strings drone chord on my keyboard and some reverb on my microphone.

“Willow Garden”/ “Down in the old willow garden”/ “Rose Connelly” are all known names for this song . It is an Appalachian Murder Ballad about a man who killed his lover. He poisoned her wine, stabbed her to death, and threw her into a river. He then confessed and was walked through the town to where his life was taken, presumably hung, drawn, and quartered for his awful crimes against such a sweet innocent young girl.

I cried the first time I heard this song, and it still moves me every time I hear it. I cried a little when I played back my recording today. The melodies are rich, beautiful and extremely sad and moving whilst briefly telling a gruesome story of a horrific murder.

(Lyrics)
“Down in the old willow garden, where me and my love did meet,
It was there we sat a-courtin’, when my love fell off to sleep,
Well I had a bottle of burgundy wine,
My love she did not know,
It was there I poisoned that poor little girl,
Down on the banks below,

Rai,rai,rai,rai,rai —— Rai rai rai,

Well I drove my saber through her, it was a bloody knife,
I threw her into the river, it was a dreadful sight,
For my father often told me, that money would set me free,
It was there I murdered that poor little girl, Whose name was Rose Connelly,

Rai,rai,rai,rai,rai —— Rai,rai,rai,

Now my father stands at his cabin door,
Wiping his tear dimmed eyes,
For his only son soon shall walk, to yonder scaffold high,
And now it’s time to leave you all, it’s time to say my goodbyes,
For they are going to stretch me up, between the Earth and skies,

For my race is run beneath the sun, the devil is waiting for me,
For I did Murder that poor little girl, whose name was Rose Connelly.”

Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed my version of Willow Garden today and you are not too deeply affected by this sad and tragic song/story. It is a song and melody that is close to my heart because the storyline is very image and emotion provoking whilst the melody is rich and harmonious, and haunting.

Here is Lankums version, they are an amazing Irish band, huge inspiration to me. Their female singer “Radie Peat” is just sensational and spine chillingly talented and beautiful!

#music #hivemusic #livemusic #teamuk #cover #ocd #singer #community #vyb #creativecoin #appreciator #scotland

Thanks,
@Danaidhbee