In the first verse the protagonist tells his lover how beautiful she is and asks that she listen to him because he's lovesick over her. In the second verse he asks her to promise always to love him and says they could make arrangements for a wedding before they part company. In the third verse he reaffirms that she is the one he lusts after and that he would like to take her as his partner. The fourth verse includes the beautiful sentiment, "in your eyes I find truth, shining with grace and virtue".

Cariad Cyntaf

Lyrics by J Dovaston; melody by Patrick Dean; arranged by The Foxglove Trio; incorporated tune: 'The the Edges' by Andy Cutting.

This song's protagonist wishes to dance with a beautiful woman at a ball even though he knows they could never marry because of the difference in their social status. Folk songs with this theme often have a sad ending so we took the opportunity to give our protagonist a glimmer of hope by tweaking the words of the final line.

The Daughter Of Megan

Lyrics by Richard Williams; traditional melody; arranged by The Foxglove Trio.

A traditional Welsh song with a typical folk narrative. A man meets a girl and tells her that he'd like to marry her. The girl initially expresses her displeasure at the thought of marrying such a horrible old man but eventually she relents and admits that she had a soft spot for him all along. The refrain 'dyna ti'r gwir' means 'that's the truth'.

Lliw Gwyn Rhosyn Yr Haf

Traditional lyrics in the chorus; verse lyrics and melody by Cathy Mason.

This song tells the story of a group of farm labourers who organised a riot in 1830 to protest against the impact of machinery on their employment prospects. The chorus and idea for the story were taken from a traditional song found in a book call 'Folk Songs of Hampshire'.

The Owlesbury Lads

Lyrics by Norman MacLeod; traditional melody; arranged by The Foxglove Trio. Incorporated tune: 'Oor Pal Davy' by John McCusker & Phil Cunningham.

A beautiful, lonesome song about leaving somewhere you love - an emotion we're all familiar with.

Farewell To Fiunary

Lyrics and melody by Huw Pudner & Chris Hastings; additional lyrics by R. Williams Parry; arranged by The Foxglove Trio. In the late 1990s a group of environmentalists and local residents failed to stop the establishment of an open cast mine at Selar Hill, a beautiful nature spot at Cwmgwrach (literally translated as 'Witches Valley') near Swansea. We added some lines in translation from R. Williams Parry's poem 'Y Llwynog' (The Fox) as they fit perfectly with the fox imagery in Huw and Chris' original song.

Selar Hill

A traditional Welsh song with a typical folk narrative. A man meets a girl and tells her that he'd like to marry her. The girl initially expresses her displeasure at the thought of marrying such a horrible old man but eventually she relents and admits that she had a soft spot for him all along. The refrain 'dyna ti'r gwir' means 'that's the truth'.

Lliw Gwyn Rhosyn yr Haf

This is the first track on our second album, Distant Havens. It is jointly written by Ffion Mair and Cathy Mason and is one of a handful of self-penned songs on the album.

Distant Havens

9/10/17

Looking Elsewhere sample

The fourth track from Distant Havens. Patrick Dean wrote a new tune for the traditional lyrics of this song about someone from Sheffield leaving home and getting into trouble. 

If you pre-order Distant Havens on bandcamp you get a full download of this song straight away. https://thefoxglovetrio.bandcamp.com/album/distant-havens

The Sheffield Apprentice (sample)

The Foxglove Trio is a group of multi-instrumentalists who perform mostly traditional songs from around the British Isles in English and Welsh. Gathering material from sessions, published song collections and contemporary artists, these talented musicians are making a name for themselves on the UK folk scene for their beautiful harmonies, creative new arrangements and engaging live performances. 

The Foxglove Trio

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