Here’s my take at the Scots lament, “Flowers of the Forest,” written to commemorate the Scots’ loss to the English at the Battle of Flodden Field on 9 September 1513. At the battle, Scotland’s King James IV was killed, the last British monarch to be killed in battle. It’s a song I’ve performed for years and loved for even longer.
I love English customs and people—but what is it with English (now British) governments throughout history? Such cruelty, such authoritarianism, such purveyors of genocide. During the Covid crisis, the most cruel regulations, restrictions, and punishments were to be found in the Commonwealth countries, even my beloved Canada to the north of me (and even Ireland—of all countries!—followed suit). To this day, what’s happening in the Commonwealth countries (and Ireland), as governments repress and suppress the liberties of their own citizens and indigenous populations cries havoc. It is cause for lament, indeed.
True, my doctorate is in English literature—which I adore—but sometimes I feel like Caliban: “You taught me language, and my profit on it is: I know how to curse! The red plague rid you for learning me your language!”
Now they are mourning, for all time lamenting.
Share this post