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Ben Walker feat. Emily Mae Winters - The Yews of Borrowdale

from Banish Air From Air by Ben Walker

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about

Emily’s so great at conveying drama in her voice. I started writing this tune on my little yew De Faoite guitar, while I was reading William Wordsworth’s The Yew-Trees, and I borrowed a few lines for the refrain. There are various stories for why the yew is the Tree of Death - they reroot and regenerate from their branches; they grew in churchyards because the Church took over the holy places where they already stood. There are also stories about burying evil people under the tree to keep them there! There are only three yew trees left standing in Borrowdale, they date back to the dark ages; who knows what lies under there waiting for the last guard to fall?

lyrics

When the old Kings of Cumbria ruled this land
Four brothers usurped their father’s command
Each knew himself worthy, noble and just
Each hated the other, for greed and blood-lust.

They fought and died on the forest floor
Condemned as wraiths for ever more
To scream their rage to the restless night
To clash cold iron in jealous fight.

The blood-red berries, the ghostly shapes
Those fraternal four
The yews of Borrowdale stand guard
over the grassless floor

Four trees were planted, each for one
The roots sank deep among the bones
The woods once echoing with rage
Fell still, now silent for an age.

For the roots hold the bones of the brothers apart
The berries, the blood from the eldest’s heart
The leaves, the poison from the youngest’s wound
Their curse, kept close in in the cold, cold ground

credits

from Banish Air From Air, released February 24, 2023

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Ben Walker Brighton, UK

With his work recognised as 'deft' (Telegraph), ‘stunning’ (The Guardian) and ‘second to none’ (Verity Sharp), Ben Walker has built a reputation among his peers for fusing tradition and innovation like no-one else.

In between producing and playing for other artists, Ben's characteristically warm, whimsical and virtuosic solo set delights folk audiences and festivals in the UK and further afield. ... more

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