Flowers of the Forest is a Scottish folk song lamenting the deaths of James IV, many of his nobles, and over 10,000 men - the titular "Flowers of the Forest" - at the Battle of Flodden Field in northern England in 1513, a significant event in the history of Scotland. The song, written in Scots, is also known as The Floo'ers o' the Forest (are a' wede away) and describes the grief of women and children at the loss of their young men. In some ways the song echoes the poem Y Gododdin about a similar defeat in about 600. Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... James IV (March 17, 1473 – September 9, 1513) was King of Scotland from 1488 to 1513. ... Western side of the battlefield, looking south-south-east from the monument erected in 1910 (marked red in the key below). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked... 1513 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stirling Castle has stood for centuries atop a volcanic crag defending the lowest ford of the River Forth. ... Scots or Lallans (Eng: Lowlands), sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from the Gaelic language of the Highlands, is a West Germanic language used in Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland, and border areas of the Republic of Ireland, where it is known in official circles as Ulster Scots or... Y Gododdin (The Gododdin), attributed to the 7th century poet Aneirin, is a series of 99 elegies to the men of the kingdom of Gododdin in north-eastern Britain who fell in the battle of Catraeth, thought to be Catterick in North Yorkshire, against the Angles, ca. ... For other uses, see number 600. ...

Translating uncommon words, the first verse could read:

I've heard the singing, at the ewe-milking,

Lasses a-singing before dawn of the day;

But now they are moaning on every milking-green;

"The Flowers of the Forest are all withered away".

The song is mentioned in The Scots Musical Museum as The flowres of the Forrest, and the air (or tune) apparently survived, but several versions of the words were written down later, the most usual being by Jean Elliot published about 1755 - see links below. The Scots Musical Museum was a major publication that had a pivotal role in the collecting and tradition of Music of Scotland. ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

A powerful song by the Scots/Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle, "No Man's Land", contains repeated reference to Flowers of the Forest, and muses over the grave of a World War I soldier, each chorus asking of his burial, did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?. The song has been covered by Fairport Convention and June Tabor, and matches Bogle's "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda", about the Gallipoli landings in the same war. The Dropkick Murphys (a band from Boston) also covered a song on their 2005 album "The Warrior's Code," with the song title "The Green Fields of France." Eric Bogle (born September 23, 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian singer and songwriter. ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead:5 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:8 million Military dead:4 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:7 million World War I... Cover of Heyday: BBC Radio Sessions 1968-1969. ... June Tabor (born 1947) is an English folk singer. ... And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda is a song written by Eric Bogle in 1972 that commemorates the battle between Australian and Turkish forces at Gallipoli during the First World War. ... Satellite image of the Gallipoli peninsula and surrounding area Gallipoli, called Gelibolu in modern Turkish, (Greek: Καλλίπολις), is a town in northwestern Turkey. ...

Did they beat the drum slowly?
Did they play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the death march,
as they lowered you down?
Did the band play “The Last Post” in chorus?
Did the pipes play “The Flowers of the Forest?”

External links

• Traditional Scottish Songs - The Flowers of the Forest
• Flowers of the Forest
• The Scottish Poetry Library