Battlefield Band - The Yew Tree

[Czeczot94]

watch?v=j96AcIZtw3o check that :)

[RSFDunBreatainn]

be assured, its not a painting of wallace, as there are none, credible, in history of this great leader. none at all that can be confirmed.

[sectadesu]

Say, What would be the guitar chords for this great song?

[Gairlochan]

There's a version of this beautiful song which grabbed me by the goolies on first hearing ( weel, it would hae if I'd been born wi' any ;-) .

It's by Brian McNeill with his band 'Slainte' … a truly haunting rendering you can listen to here:

/watch?NR=1&v=yEC0V7-5FJM

[Isalys555]

I have uploaded a best version, look at my youtube account :)

[dolchi21]

where can i find the mp3?

very few material of BB on the internet :(

[dolchi21]

watch?v=dSgKWWAbK9Y

[bimotaray]

all the crimes England did. Tony Bliar and rot in hell Gordon Brown,we have paid the debt with interest !

[Alosnup]

Appologies to my ignorance, but who is the guy from that old engraving?

[cochranejwink]

@Alosnup - William Wallace

[sportbackbayman]

@Alosnup Sir William Wallace soldier of Scotland.

[xjimix]

4 people were english!!!

[raysteer]

@xjimix 5

[666caimbirdofhell]

The roots of sorrow grow nevermore.

[NewNorthDakota]

This song is kickass. Is there anywhere I can download it free?

[xProdigy1243]

Is it wrong if this gave me a boner?

[JuniusFaction]

It's about the Battle of Flodden with the English at the beginning, then a bit about the "moss troopes" or brigands, the lords, etc. Then finally the preacher John Knox. You can look all of those up.

[rsman169]

It's like Ensiferum! without the heavy guitars! Folk music ftw.

[dolchi21]

epic tone

[pipier100]

I remember The Battlefield Band as a support act for Mike Oldfield in the beginning eighties. As a joke, they called themselves "Led MacZeppelin". How wonderful! Never lost them out of sight since then.

[Ripley44mag]

So Sad.

[sueboochevy]

Could someone help me understand what is been said? What are they talking about? Is it about war, kings and queens, peasants, scotish history? I'm not too keen on this stuff

[lelorien]

@sueboochevy I'm not an expert, but I'm thinking it's about Scottish history.

[gaspode18]

@lelorien Its about Scotland, the Scots, their realtionship with England, the hisory of the battles along the border, socialism.....

Oh, when the poor hunt the poor

Through mountain and moor,

The rich man can keep them in chains.

[lelorien]

@gaspode18 I love hearing that part. Socialism you say? How does that phrase refer to it?

[gaspode18]

@lelorien Divide and conquer: It the poor are fighting each other then the rich can keep them under their thumb. More about anti-Socialsim perhaps.

[Leodhais]

@sueboochevy

Exactly, it's about the most dramtic moments in Scottish history. I can send you the lyrics, should you wish it.

[Leodhais]

@sueboochevy

Well, the first one is about Battle of Flodden, grievious defeat at the hands of english, the second one is about Borderes warfare and the constant conflict both in the Scotland itself and english incursions, the third is about Protestantism (John Knox, Civil War, Covenant) and how it affected scottish politics. May Google help you, my friend))

[Fraterculae]

@sueboochevy Its about the huge old Yew tree in my friend's garden in East Lothian ..

[lelorien]

@Fraterculae Lucky! I'd love to see it! Would you be so kind as to take a picture of it? :)

[Fraterculae]

@sueboochevy @lelorien It is a famous huge Yew tree (actually two beside each other and many many offshoots .. the writer is a real socialist and sings about chopping the tree down so it doesnt have to hear anymore nasty people conspiring under its branches!! like John Knox the protestant reformer or any of the battling lairds. Its called the "Ormiston yew" .. spent many evenings out sleeping up in its branches!! Many photos of it on the web!!

[lelorien]

@Fraterculae It's about an actual, living tree??

[Fraterculae]

@lelorien Yes, of course, Its a lovely big old thing :) And if anyone tried to take an axe to it I would thump them !

[PhalainaBelgium]

Beautiful ! Thanks to our excellent Scottish musicians ! Phalaïna

[McAleen]

i just saw them in Long Beach...they totally rocked!!!!! This one song gave me the idea to write a story, and the yew tree plays an important part in it.

[JuniusFaction]

This gives me cold goosebumps all over my skin.

[lelorien]

@JuniusFaction You bet! :P

[NobodyVexen]

They were GREAT in Germany... <3 awesome song, didn't knew it until now

[horcruxkiller]

Cool song, I love the lyrics. They are a great Scottish band indeed.

[Ginzoo]

pure brilliant,

[arnold754]

classic folk music,full of meaning and history;great

[theromanian19]

I wanna make an awesome vid to this song

[lelorien]

That would be amazing.... I'd love to play this song in a band ^^

[TheStratovarian]

I wiki'd quite a few folks mentioned, and an informing song as well as a relaxing one to listen to.

[JBurdoo]

This is the original version of Yew Tree; it was written by Brian McNeill of the Battlefield Band.

[Gethellost]

McNeill played last night in a local pub with a band called 'Drones and B ellows', here in Denmark. Truly amazing. They played this song, and we all sang along. :)

[capt777737]

I haven't seen these guys since about 1974 in our high school in a small Wyoming town of 3000 people.

They brought down the house, and they're still kickin arse today.

They should come back.

It'd be an honor to jam music with them.

[lelorien]

How I'd  love them to come to Canada :(...

[bonsaygirl]

thx for uploading this!

I discovered my passion for this kind of music a year ago, and the Yew Tree is definitley one of my favourite songs.

the other version of this song is beautiful, too, but I can't get used to her voice...

I found a battlefield band CD, when I was in Scottland, and I fell in love with the disk, when I heard it the first time!

PS: sorry for my bad English, I come from Switzerland... :D

[lelorien]

No problem ;). I similarly started enjoying and playing ITM and STM when I first found this song.

[northwoodshippie]

No, I don't know of any other versions, and not to piss you off but I don't care for the "unknown artists" version, that woman's voice gives me the creeps.

This is the best version EVER, it is simply perfection!

[lelorien]

:p no offense taken, thanks for the comments

[northwoodshippie]

Thank you for posting this, I know it has been months since you posted it, but this is without question the best version of The Yew Tree EVER!

[lelorien]

My personal favorite is the one by the unknown artist. If you know other versions, please share them.