Tri-Coloured House 
Traditional (Roud 12/X7285)*

Also known as The Elfin Knight / Scarborough Fair / Rosemary Lane, this sometimes-supernatural tale of riddling and impossible tasks has thematic roots also found in non-English-speaking cultures throughout the world. My interpretation was inspired by Irish band Lankum, who took their version from a 1973 Irish archival recording of settled Traveller Mrs Mary Kate McDonagh (recorded by Tom Munnelly). This song also features the otherworldly voice of Aoife Nic Dhiarmada. The air Aoife sings comes from the Irish sean-nós song S’é Fáth Mo Bhuartha which translates as The Cause of My Worry.

Heronbones

Tri-Coloured House

The Returning (Selkie) 
Lyrics & Music: Ruth Hazleton

Selkies, or seal folk, are mythical & folkloric creatures who shapeshift between seal and human forms by shedding their seal skin, and are strongly associated with Irish and Scottish culture, particularly the Shetland and Orkney Islands. In some of the old stories, the Selkie may choose to retain their human form, remaining ashore to be with a human lover (and sometimes children), though they can be trapped if their skins are stolen or hidden from them. This song is about a Selkie betrayed, exploring themes of choice, agency, coercive control and the reclaiming of identity or ‘skin’.

The Returning (Selkie)

Letter From a Friend (Fire Song)
Lyrics: Johanna Graham & Ruth Hazleton, Music: Ruth Hazleton

This song was composed from correspondence with a dear friend after she and her husband lost their home (near Eden, NSW) in the catastrophic bushfires of 2019/2020. A talented creative writer, she wrote evocatively of the devastation and home they lost. “The sadness extends way past the corners of my house, out into the entire eastern seaboard and beyond. I hear myself saying to the dead forest “…what have they done to you?” and it feels so personal. The old growth section of our forest, my favourite lilly pilly tree that marked the edge of our place was about to bear fruit, lies in four sections, barely recognisable… and you only asked how I am”. So many touched by these fire events recognise them as the face of climate change.

Letter From a Friend (Fire Song)

Shackled (Song For Nûdem Durak)

Through The Grove (I Riden Sa)

State Of The World

Messiahs Of Hate

The Killing Times

Melbourne-based singer, banjo player, guitarist and songwriter Ruth Hazleton has remained a prominent figure in Australia’s folk music scene for 30 years.

An artist known for her appearances with several high-profile Australian acts (Kate Burke & Ruth Hazleton, Closet Klezmer & Dev’lish Mary), Ruth has toured nationally and internationally (UK, Ireland and America), released eleven studio albums and made guest appearances on many more. 

Artists Ruth has recorded and performed with over the years include: Andy Irvine (Ireland – Planxty, Mozaik), Bruce Molsky (USA – Mozaik), Nancy Kerr & The Sweet Visitor Band (UK – BBC Folk Singer of the Year 2015), Luke Plumb (Shooglenifty), Nancy Kerr & James Fagan (AUS/UK), Rens Van der Zalm (Netherlands – Mozaik), James Keelaghan (Canada), Martyn Wyndham-Read (UK) and Bill Jackson (Australia).

Ruth began her solo journey in 2019, releasing Daisywheel, produced by acclaimed musician and composer Luke Plumb (Shooglenifty). The album was nominated for ‘Best Folk Album 2020’ at the Music Victoria Awards and has been described as “…compelling and intimately fierce” (Living Tradition – UK).
In 2021, Ruth was awarded ‘Solo Artist of the Year’ at the Australian Folk Music Awards, and supported by Sounds Australia as a participant in export program Global Music Match. She also represented Australia as an International Spotlight Showcase Artist at Folk Unlocked (Folk Alliance International).

Ruth is celebrating 30 years in music with a new album release, Heronbones (due out 29 September 2025). A darkfolk offering, Heronbones explores traditional and contemporary song and folkloric themes using a combination of sampling, sound design, electronic beats, electric guitar, banjo, drums and strings.

Ruth Hazleton

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