I always thought of Oh Rowen Tree as an Irish folk song - most likely because I first encountered the Celtic tradition of them providing protection against evil spirits in books I read about Ireland.
This is a photo of the Mountain Ash/aka/Rowen that grew across the street when we first moved here.
I don't know what killed this beautiful tree, but I did manage to save a small branch from it which I later made into a walking stick.
I also don't know what made me think of the song this morning. These are the lyrics:
Oh Rowan Tree
Oh rowan tree, oh rowan treeThou'lt aya be dear to theeEntwined thou art wi' many tiesO'hame and infancyThy leaves were aye the first of springThy flowers the summer's prideThere was nae sic a bonnie treeIn a' the country sideOh rowan tree
How fair was thou in summer timeWi' a'thy clusters whiteHow rich and gay thy autumn dress,Wi' berries red and bright!On thy fair stem were mony namesWhich now nae mair I seeBut they're engraven on my heart,Forget they ne'er can beOh rowan tree
We sat aneath thy spreadin' shadeThe bairnies round thee ranThey pu'd they bonnie berries red,And necklaces they strangMy mither, oh! I see her still,She smil'd our sports to seeWi' little jeannie on her lap,And jamie on her kneeOh rowan tree
Oh there arose my father's pray'rIn holy ev'ning's calmHow sweet was them my mother's voice,In the martyrs' psalmNow a'are gane!We meet nae mair aneath the rowan treeBut hallow'd thoughts around thee twineO'hame and infancyOh rowan tree
In addition to protection against evil, the Rowan tree also represents healing and transformation.
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