"The Floral Dance" is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

song describing the annual Furry Dance in

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map shee ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The music and lyrics were written in 1911 by Kate Emily Barkley ("Katie") Moss (1881–1947) who was a professional violinist, pianist and concert singer. She was brought up in London and studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. The song tells the story of an incident that apparently actually happened to Moss herself on a visit to Helston during the springtime 'Furry Dance' celebrations and the song was reportedly written directly afterwards as she was going home on the train. The songbook cover states that the music was "founded on an old Cornish air". Moss introduces the original Furry Dance tune in the piano part just as the singer is describing the sound of the band, with its "cornet, clarinet and big trombone; fiddle, cello, big bass drum; bassoon, flute and euphonium". "The Floral Dance" was first recorded in 1912 by the

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bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Peter Dawson, and many other versions have appeared since.

Frederick Ranalow Frederick Ranalow (7 November 18738 December 1953) was an Irish baritone who was distinguished in opera, oratorio, and musical theatre, but whose name is now principally associated with the role of Captain Macheath in the ballad opera ''The Begga ...

's recording was made in order to cash in on the sales of the Dawson version. The 1960s saw versions by

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...

(UK), Ken Sims' Vintage Jazz Band (UK) and The Ivy League (UK). In 1970, the cast of ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' performed a sketch (' The Cornish Floral Dance') for ''

Christmas Night with the Stars ''Christmas Night with the Stars'' is a television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 (with the exception of 1961, 1965 and 1966). The show was hosted each year by a leading star of BBC TV and featured specially made s ...

''. They repeated their versions in the 1975

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

at the

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. Moss's song experienced a revival in an arrangement for the

Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band The Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band is a British brass band formed in 1881. The band is based in Brighouse, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The band is known across the world, and is regarded by many as the best and most consistent "p ...

by their MD Derek Broadbent, which sold half a million copies, and reached No. 2 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

by Christmas 1977. In 1978,

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...

recorded a version which reached No. 21 in the same chart. Wogan's version was accompanied by the

Hanwell Band The Hanwell Band was a brass band formed in Hanwell, near Ealing, in 1891. It was first known as the Hanwell Town Band but after success in competition it was renamed the Hanwell Prize Band. Another competition win in 1913 in Tottenham expanded ...

from west London, and omitted the final verse containing the climax to the story. On ''

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'', Wogan sang it live to a backing track. An instrumental version was recorded in 1979 by

Gheorghe Zamfir Gheorghe Zamfir (; born April 6, 1941) is a Romanian nai (pan flute) musician. Zamfir is known for playing an expanded version of normally 20-pipe nai, with 22, 25, 28 or even 30 pipes, to increase its range, and obtaining as many as eight ove ...

. A version of the song was prominently featured near the beginning of the 1996 film, ''

Brassed Off ''Brassed Off'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of ...

''. In 2016, a campaign for

Christmas Number One In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

was launched for

's version of "The Floral Dance" after his death. All proceeds of the downloaded single were to be given to Children in Need.

Lyric

Music and lyrics by Katie Moss, 1911 :As I walked home on a Summer night :When stars in Heav'n were shining bright :Far away from the footlight's glare :Into the sweet and scented air :Of a quaint old Cornish town :Borne from afar on the gentle breeze :Joining the murmur of the summer seas :Distant tones of an old world dance :Played by the village band perchance :On the calm air came floating down :I thought I could hear the curious tone :Of the

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

and big

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

Fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

, '

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

, big

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

Bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" ...

:Far away, as in a trance :I heard the sound of the Floral Dance :And soon I heard such a bustling and prancing :And then I saw the whole village was dancing :In and out of the houses they came :Old folk, young folk, all the same :In that quaint old Cornish town :Every boy took a girl 'round the waist :And hurried her off in tremendous haste :Whether they knew one another I care not :Whether they cared at all, I know not :But they kissed as they danced along. :And there was the band with that curious tone :Of the cornet, clarinet and big trombone :Fiddle, 'cello, big bass drum :Bassoon, flute and euphonium :Each one making the most of his chance :All together in the Floral Dance :I felt so lonely standing there :And I could only stand and stare :For I had no boy with me :Lonely I should have to be :In that quaint old Cornish town. :When suddenly hast'ning down the lane :A figure I knew I saw quite plain :With outstretched hands he came along :And carried me into that merry throng :And fiddle and all went dancing down. :We danced to the band with the curious tone :Of the cornet, clarinet and big trombone :Fiddle, 'cello, big bass drum :Bassoon, flute and euphonium :Each one making the most of his chance :Altogether in the Floral Dance. :Dancing here, prancing there :Jigging, jogging ev'rywhere :Up and down, and round the town :Hurrah! For the Cornish Floral Dance

References

External links

Musicweb British Light Music Composers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Floral Dance, The 1911 songs Cornish music Songs about musical instruments Songs about dancing