Willow's Song
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"Willow's Song" is a ballad by American composer
Paul Giovanni Paul Giovanni (June 2, 1933 – June 17, 1990) was an American playwright, actor, director, singer and musician. Giovanni wrote the music for the 1973 British horror film ''The Wicker Man''. Early life Giovanni was born in Atlantic City, New Jer ...
for the
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
film ''
The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy (film director), Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer (writer ...
''. It is the best-known song from the film, and it is sometimes referred to as "The Wicker Man Song", although the film contains many other songs. The film tells the story of an upright Christian police officer investigating the disappearance of a young girl, the search for whom leads him to a remote Scottish isle inhabited by pagans. While staying at the
Green Man The Green Man, also known as a foliate head, is a motif in architecture and art, of a face made of, or completely surrounded by, foliage, which normally spreads out from the centre of the face. Apart from a purely decorative function, the Green ...
Pub, Sergeant Howie (
Edward Woodward Edward Albert Arthur Woodward (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. He began his career on stage, appearing in productions in both the West End of London and on Broadway in New York City. He came to wider att ...
) is roused from prayer by the landlord's daughter Willow, played by
Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Double Man (1967 film), The Double Man'' (1967), ''The Night They ...
, who sings the erotic ballad through the adjoining wall of their separate bedrooms while completely
naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...
. The song is an attempt to seduce Howie by accentuating Willow's sensuality. The music is played by the band
Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
. According to the film's associate musical director Gary Carpenter, the screen version was sung by Rachel VerneyGary Carpenter (2000)
The Wicker Man: Settling the Score
/ref> (although some have believed that it was sung by the Scottish jazz singer
Annie Ross Annie Ross (born Annabelle Allan Short; 25 July 193021 July 2020) was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the influential jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. She helped pioneer the vocalese style of jazz sin ...
). There are two different album versions of
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
. The 1998 version released by
Trunk Records Trunk Records is a British independent record label, which specialises mainly in lost film scores, unreleased TV music, library music, old advertising jingles, art, sexploitation and kitsch releases. It was founded in 1995 by Jonny Trunk, and ...
features the film version of the song. The 2002 version released by Silva Screen features an alternate recording in which Lesley Mackie (who played Daisy in the film) sang to the same backing tracks. According to Paul Giovanni, "The idea for the song was completely original with me—there was no indication of what it was to be in the script except a couple of lines of absolute filth," sourced by screenwriter Anthony Shaffer from various anthologies of lyrics that would be appropriate to spring pagan festivals. "The main thing is in the rhythm, and we used all of the old twangy instruments in there".David Bartholomew (1977)
The Wicker Man
''
Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/ ed ...
'' vol 7, no 3
One couplet in the song is adapted from a poem by
George Peele George Peele (baptised 25 July 1556 – buried 9 November 1596) was an English translator, poet, and dramatist, who is most noted for his supposed, but not universally accepted, collaboration with William Shakespeare on the play ''Titus Andronic ...
, part of his play ''The Old Wives' Tale'' (printed 1595). Another may be taken from a verse of the Elizabethan-period drinking song "Martin Said To His Man" (or may since have been added to it).The verse is not included in
Thomas Ravenscroft Thomas Ravenscroft ( – 1635) was an English musician, theorist and editor, notable as a composer of rounds and catches, and especially for compiling collections of English folk music. Biography Little is known of Ravenscroft's early lif ...
's ''Deuteromelia'' (1609); but does appear on
Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English Conducting, conductor, harpsichordist, and Musicology, musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on h ...
's recording ''Music from the time of Elizabeth I'' (1992). On
The City Waites The City Waites were a British early music ensemble. Formed in the early 1970s, they specialise in English music of the 16th and 17th centuries from the street, tavern, theatre and countryside — the music of ordinary people. They endeavour to ap ...
' disc ''How the World Wags'' ( Hyperion, 1980), it is said to have been taken from a singer in a present-day folk clu

"I saw a maid milk a bull. Fie, man, fie. / I saw a maid milk a bull, who's the fool now? / I saw a maid milk a bull, at every pull a bucket full. / Thou hast well drunken, man, who's the fool now?"


Cover versions

The song has been covered several times, notably as "How Do", on the
Sneaker Pimps Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, '' Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and " Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an articl ...
' 1996 album, ''
Becoming X ''Becoming X'' is the debut album by English electronic music, electronic band Sneaker Pimps. It was released on 19 August 1996 in the United Kingdom by Clean Up Records and on 25 February 1997 in the United States by Virgin Records. The album ma ...
''. This version also appeared in an erotic scene in the 2006 horror film ''
Hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...
'' and the 1997 Spanish film '' Abre los Ojos.'' Other covers include: * A version by
The Mock Turtles The Mock Turtles are an English indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s. Their most famous song " Can You Dig It?", which was released in the UK in 1991, charted at numb ...
on their 1991 album ''
Turtle Soup Turtle soup, also known as terrapin soup, is a soup or stew made from the meat of turtles. Several versions of the soup exist in different cultures, and it is often viewed as a delicacy. Culinary description The principal characteristic of tu ...
'' * A version by the French pop band
Autour de Lucie Autour de Lucie is a French pop rock band, founded by vocalist , guitarist Olivier Durand and bassist Fabrice Dumont. Their albums were released in France on Le Village Vert, and in North America on Nettwerk (first three) and Universal. Their debu ...
titled ''Island'' with alternative lyrics on the 1994 album '' L'Échappée belle'' * A version by Nature and Organisation on the 1994 EP ''A Dozen Summers Against the World'' and the 1995 LP '' Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude'' with vocals by
Rose McDowall Rose McDowall (née Porter; born 21 October 1959) is a Scottish musician who formed Strawberry Switchblade with Jill Bryson in 1981. History McDowall was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959. Her first venture into music was in the Poems, an ar ...
. * A version by Lush guitarist
Emma Anderson Emma Victoria Jane Anderson (born 10 June 1967) is an English musician. She is a songwriter, and was guitarist and singer in the shoegazing/Britpop band Lush. Early life Born in Wimbledon, London, the adopted daughter of a former army office ...
's band
Sing-Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York, United States. It is about north of Midtown Manhatta ...
on their 2001 "Tegan" single * A version by the British rock band
Doves Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
on their 2003 ''
Lost Sides ''Lost Sides'' is a compilation album by the band Doves. The original incarnation of ''Lost Sides'' was a promotional-only CD released in 2001, and only featured the B-sides from the singles taken from the band's debut album '' Lost Souls''. The ...
'' album * A version by
Faith and the Muse Faith and the Muse is an American rock band composed of Monica Richards and William Faith. Their music encompasses many genres, from folk music to dark wave, drawing on many sources and influences, notably Dead Can Dance. Richards is the prima ...
on their 2003 album ''The Burning Season'' * A version by
Seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...
on the 2004 album '' As the Cry Flows'' * A version by
Isobel Campbell Isobel Campbell (born 27 April 1976) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and cellist. She rose to prominence at age nineteen as a member of the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, but left the group to pursue a solo career, first as the Gentle Waves ...
on her 2006 album '' Milkwhite Sheets'' * A version by
Anna Oxygen Anna Jordan Huff is an American multi-media artist, composer, producer and singer-songwriter best known by her stage name Anna Oxygen. After starting her music career as a member of the Space Ballerinas, a synth-pop group then based in Olympia, ...
on her 2006 album '' This Is an Exercise'' * A version by U.K indie dance group
The Go! Team The Go! Team are an English indie rock band from Brighton, England. The band initially began as a solo project conceived by Ian Parton; however, after the unexpected success of the Go! Team's debut album, '' Thunder, Lightning, Strike'', Parton ...
, appearing as a bonus track on their 2007 album ''
Proof of Youth ''Proof of Youth'' is the second studio album by English band The Go! Team. Released It was released on 10 September 2007 in the United Kingdom by Memphis Industries and a day later in the United States by Sub Pop. ''Proof of Youth'' was pre ...
'' * A version by
Damh the Bard This is a list of deities of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', including all of the 3.5 edition gods and powers of the "Core Setting" for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') roleplaying game. Religion is a key element of the D&D game, since it is require ...
on his 2008 album ''The Cauldron Born'', this time turning it into a duet and adding an evocative electronic rhythm * Another version by Kelli Ali, formerly Kelli Dayton of the
Sneaker Pimps Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, '' Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and " Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an articl ...
, on her 2009 LP ''Butterfly'' * A version by
Daniel Licht Daniel Licht (March 13, 1957 – August 2, 2017) was an American soundtrack composer and musician, best known for writing the score of Showtime TV drama series ''Dexter''. Life and career Licht grew up in suburban Detroit and attended the Roep ...
for the 2012
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
video game '' Silent Hill: Downpour'' * A version by composer and artist Robert Reed for his 2014 E.P. Willow's Song, featuring Angharad Brinn on vocals * A version can be heard in the 1998 anime ''
Blue Gender ''Blue Gender'' is a Japanese anime television series created by Ryōsuke Takahashi, the creator of '' Armored Trooper Votoms'' and '' Gasaraki'', broadcast in Japan from 1999 to 2000 and spanning 26 episodes. ''Blue Gender'' was animated by ...
'' in episode 06 "Relation" In addition, a sample of the song was also used by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...
band
Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...
on "Wickerman", from their 2001 album '' We Love Life''.


References

{{Authority control Wicker man 1973 songs Songs written for films Psychedelic folk songs British folk songs Folk ballads