"The Woad Song"

John G. and company sing the immortal paean to woad on the last night of the Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu, Buffalo, NY, 2004

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Singing
• satire
• Celtic
• humor
• Welsh
• National
• Gymanfa
• Ganu
• Buffalo
• woad
• guitar
• Harlech
• March

[LordTharrion]

@shaloneithne NO, you see the romans didn't use the word for woad when speaking of the picts, the word they used described a glass substance Woad was only applied to these peoples much later. In any case, woad does not die well enough to last and it definitely is not a good tatoo agent as it causes severe ilness at the tatooed area. On top of this, brisih bog bodies were found tatooed as described by ancient sources and it was with a coper based substance rather than being painted with woad.

[shaloneithne]

@LordTharrion it comes from a mis-translation of old records wherein the romans who encountered the first gauls wrote that they went naked into battle wearing only woad. it is believed this actually refers to going into battle without anything they recognized as armor. So Woad could have been on their shirts. Also, have you ever put die made of woad onto your skin? it dies the skin quite well, at least as good as a temporary Henna does only in a soft shade of blue. A&S experimentation.

[Ynot1666]

Thanks for posting this. A very slow and pedestrian rendering, not to mention the change in pace as it progresses. Amateur night - but everyone is having fun, and it seems to be the only version I can find on YouTube so don`t get me wrong, I am very grateful for this because I didn't expect to find even one. I've loved this song for decades!! It's in the Tom Lehrer tradition - and yes I know, it predates him. I learned this song from a chemistry post-graduate student

[8492]

thats what i ment, as a dye for cloathing.

[LordTharrion]

@8492 Actually, the use of Woad is unlikely. The only archeological evidence of paint/tatooes is from a bog-man which was copper-based. Woad actually makes for poor body paint and the original term used for the paint by Caesar was "glass."

Woad itself was more commonly used for clothing dies.

But asside from that... Yes, Caasar did say that "All the British color themselves with glass, which produces a blue color."

[8492]

actully pretty much anyone from the british isle proably used wod at some point

[AlexDCl]

Welsh? But the woad people were Scottish, lol.

[JALMAR169]

I'm a Yank with Welsh roots many generations back, from many ancestoral dirrections. I've been trying to teach my kids "Men of Harlech", sung and on the guitar. Your video did the trick. They like the "Woad Song" lyrics better. Either way having that tune around takes me back to the days of evening sing arounds. Thanks from over here - God Bless-Keep posting

[AlexDCl]

First time since primary skool.

[scalveg]

This is the only version of the Woad Song on Youtube!