jimsim /|\

Spring Equinox

When equal day meets equal night
all nature's been renewed,
and spirit old and spirit new
are balanced in evening dew.
Then we burn the wicker man.
In death and rebirth ours souls fly
flame and smoke, Chant and rhyme
let it be a summer time.
/|\ AWEN
Y Gwir yn Erbyn y Byd

My wicker man march 20th

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Lyrics ( full version )
Heigh ho
Who is there?
No one but me my dear.

Please come
Say how do the things I'll give to you?

A stroke as gentle as a feather
I'll catch a rainbow from the sky and tie the ends together

Heigh ho
I am here.
Am I not young and fair ?

Please come
Say how do the things I'll show to you?

Would you have a wond'rous sight?
The midday sun at midnight

Fair maid, white and red,
Comb you smooth and stroke your head
hmm

How a maid can milk a bull
And every stroke a bucketful

Willow's Song
Willow's Song is easily the most famous of all the musical pieces that were performed in The Wicker Man. The track is an original composition. The song is also gone under the title 'The Siren Song'.

A siren song is something which has an irresistible appeal, regardless of its bad consequences.

The 'cow milking' reference in the last verse is inspired from the old English drinking song 'Martin Said To His Man', which goes:

"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 "

According to the film's associate musical director Gary Carpenter, the screen version was sung by Rachel Verney. Some have believed, however, that it was the Scottish jazz singer Annie Ross who sang the piece. Ross is believed by many, including Ekland herself, to have voiced Willow's dialog, although director Robin Hardy claims that this is untrue.

An alternate version also exists in which Leslie Mackie ( who played Daisey in the film ) is reported to have sang to the same backing tracks. It is this version which is featured on the 'Silva Screens' soundtrack CD. In the original shortened release of the film, the song was hacked to bits via some of the worst editing cuts known to mankind. The edits are not even on-beat and make no musical sense whatsoever! Sadly, it is this version which appeared on the 'Trunk' issue of the soundtrack. In summary, the full recording of the film version appears on neither CD.

Interestingly, an instrumental version , with a unique arrangement replacing the vocal line was released by Silva Screen as a downloadable MP3 via their website. The recording's lead flute line is not an original Magnet performance. Silva Screen records commissioned this version based on the original instrumental backing track.

Willow's Song has been covered by numerous artists including Death In June, Doves and the Sneaker Pimps. Bizarrely, all three of these versions are based on the hacked-to-bits version and the artists had to compensate around the bad editing on their source material. Even more bizarre is the fact that the Sneaker Pimps got permission from Britt Ekland to use a sample of Willow's voice in order for them to credit the track as 'featuring' the actress. Brit's voice is widely believed to have not featured in the film in either dialog or song! The Sneaker Pimps version was released under the title 'How Do'.

Spring Equinox celebrates the renewed life of the Earth that comes with the Spring. It is a solar festival, celebrated when the length of the day and the night are equal (this happens twice a year, at Spring and Autumn Equinox).

This turn in the seasons has been celebrated by cultures throughout history who held festivals for their gods and goddesses at this time of year. Aphrodite from Cyprus, Hathor from Egypt and Ostara of Scandinavia. The Celts continued the tradition with festivities at this time of year.


Like many periods of unrest throughout history, the prime mover for the Roman assault and invasion of Anglesey lay in the religious significance posed by Druidism. Romans saw Druidism as a serious menace - and Anglesey, spiritual home of the Druids, as the centre of that threat. The Romans were hostile to Druidism as it not only banded together individuals in a common focus but also allowed for an infrastructure of rebellion to flourish. So long as there were Druids in Britain, then rebellion and resistance would continue amongst the tribes and this, in turn, threatened the expansionism of the Empire itself. This challenge was seen as a significant - as well as strategic - threat as Anglesey remained the last bastion of Druidism in the British Isles. Its importance in any future Roman planning in terms of occupation and control could not, therefore, be underestimated.

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