Composed, arranged and recorded by Paul Giovanni

Paul Giovanni

Paul Giovanni was an American playwright, actor, director, singer and musician. New Yorker Giovanni is best known for writing the music for the 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man...

 and Magnet

Magnet (band)

Magnet were a band formed for the purpose of recording the soundtrack to the 1973 film The Wicker Man. The band were assembled by musician Gary Carpenter to perform songs composed by New York songwriter Paul Giovanni...

, The Wicker Man soundtrack contains folk songs performed by characters in the film (including some by members of the cast). For example, Lesley Mackie, who plays the character of Daisy in the film, sings the opening song, and various others in the CD Soundtrack. The songs were arranged to hint at a pre-Christian pagan European culture and vary between traditional songs, original Giovanni compositions and even nursery rhyme in "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep (nursery rhyme)

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep is an English nursery rhyme, sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman. The original form of the tune is used for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Alphabet song. The words have changed little in two and a half centuries...

". Musicians forming the folk band in the film included Michael Cole (Flute and wind instruments) and Dick Wren (Violin). This mix of songs contributes to the film's atmosphere, contrasting rabble-rousing songs that depict the island's community like "The Landlord's Daughter" and the child-sung "Maypole" with the sinister "Fire Leap" and the erotic "Willow's Song

Willow's Song

"Willow's Song" is a ballad by American composer Paul Giovanni for the 1973 film The Wicker Man. The lyrics are as follows:"Heigh ho! Who is there?No one but me, my dear.Please come say, how do?The things I'll give to you....

" before culminating in the islanders' rendition of the Middle English

Middle English

Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....

 "Sumer Is Icumen In

Sumer Is Icumen In

"Sumer Is Icumen In" is a traditional English round, and possibly the oldest such example of counterpoint in existence. The title might be translated as "Summer has come in" or "Summer has arrived"....

".

The opening music and "Corn Rigs" are arrangements of the Robert Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...

 ballads "The Highland Widow's Lament" and "Rigs O' Barley", respectively. The instrumental parts of the score are based on traditional Scottish, Irish, and English tunes such as "Miri it is", the strathspey

Strathspey (dance)

A strathspey is a type of dance tune in 4/4 time. It is similar to a hornpipe but slower and more stately, and contains many dot-cut 'snaps'. A so-called Scotch snap is a short note before a dotted note, which in traditional playing is generally exaggerated rhythmically for musical expression...

 "Robertson's Rant" jig, and "Drowsy Maggie" reel. "Chop Chop" is based on the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons

Oranges and Lemons

"Oranges and Lemons" is an English nursery rhyme and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as #3190.-Lyrics:Common modern versions include:...

". "Procession" is an arrangement of the tune of the Child Ballad "Fause Foodrage

Fause Foodrage

-Synopsis:Nobles rebelled against the king, and Fa’se Footrage, among them, sneaks into the royal castle to kill the king—or, in other variants, the Eastmure king kills King Honour because his suit for King Honor's queen was rejected. The queen pleads for her life until her child is born. Fa’se...

". Although some of the music is Scottish, and the film is set in the Hebrides

Hebrides

The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...

, no traditional Scottish Gaelic numbers are featured.

Some of the songs (most notably "Willow's Song") have been covered by contemporary artists, such as the Mediæval Bæbes

Mediæval Bæbes

The Mediæval Bæbes are a British ensemble of female musicians founded in the 1990s by Katharine Blake and included some of her colleagues from the band Miranda Sex Garden, as well as other friends who share her love of mediaeval music...

, Doves, Faith and the Muse

Faith and the Muse

Faith and the Muse is an American, underground gothic/darkwave band composed of two musicians, Monica Richards and William Faith. They are well regarded in the gothic music scene as innovators and icons. Their music encompasses many genres, from folk-style songs to darker compositions. Richards is...

 and the Sneaker Pimps

Sneaker Pimps

Sneaker Pimps were a British trip-hop band formed in Hartlepool, England in 1994. They are best known for their first album Becoming X and particularly the singles "6 Underground", "Spin Spin Sugar", and "Tesko Suicide" from the same album...

.

The soundtrack was unavailable until a 1998 release on Trunk Records

Trunk Records

Trunk Records is a British independent record label, which specialises mainly in lost film scores, unreleased TV music, library music, sexploitation and kitsch releases...

 of a mono album dubbed from the music and effects tapes at Pinewood, from the shorter original cut of the film (hence missing the song "Gently Johnny"). It was not until 2002 that Silva Screen Records released a stereo version using cues from the tape held by Gary Carpenter, mixed with recordings from the first Trunk Records

Trunk Records

Trunk Records is a British independent record label, which specialises mainly in lost film scores, unreleased TV music, library music, sexploitation and kitsch releases...

 release. This release includes the missing "Willow Song".

A live performance of the soundtrack at the 30th annual Brosella Folk Festival in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, on 8 July 2006, underlined the cult status of the film and its music. The organizers were looking for something to mark three decades of the festival and as such, for the final act of the evening, they assembled "The Wicker Band". This ensemble included many eminent performers from the thriving Flemish folk-rock scene, as well as the singer Jacqui McShee

Jacqui McShee

thumb|300px|right|Jacqui McShee performing with [[Pentangle]] at the 2007 [[BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards]]Jacqueline 'Jacqui' McShee is an English singer. Since 1966 she has performed with Pentangle, a jazz influenced folk rock band.-Biography:McShee's musical career began as a soloist in British folk...

, founding member and continual reviver of the 1960s folk-jazz band Pentangle

Pentangle (band)

Pentangle are a British folk rock band with some folk jazz influences. The original band were active in the late 1960s and early 1970s and a later version has been active since the early 1980s...

, and fellow ex-Pentangle member Danny Thompson

Danny Thompson

Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...

. The band performed music from the film, plus a few selected songs from the folk and singer-songwriter repertoire that seemed to fit the mood before, shortly after midnight, the director's cut of the film was shown on a giant screen.

1998 Track listing

1. "The Wicker Man (Main Title)"
2. "Corn Riggs"
3. "Landlords Daughter"
4. "Festival Photos"
5. "Loving Couples"
6. "Willow's Song"
7. "Maypole Song"
8. "Beetle"
9. "Ruined Church Sequence"
10. "Corn Riggs" & "Fireleap"
11. "Fireleap (Reprise)"
12. "Graveyard Sequence" - "Tinker Of Rye"
13. "Tinker Of Rye (Part 2)"
14. "Festival"
15. "Masks"
16. "Hobby Horse & Tarring"
17. "Search 1 - Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
    Baa, Baa, Black Sheep (nursery rhyme)
    Baa, Baa, Black Sheep is an English nursery rhyme, sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman. The original form of the tune is used for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Alphabet song. The words have changed little in two and a half centuries...
    
    "
18. "Search 2"
19. "Hand Of Glory"
20. "Procession"
21. "Chop Chop"
22. "Horn At Cave - Cave Chase"
23. "The Anointing"
24. "Hum"
25. "Approach"
26. "Summer Is A Coming In"
27. "The Wicker Man (End Title)"

2002 Track listing

1. "Corn Rigs"
2. "The Landlords Daughter"
3. "Gently Johnny"
4. "Maypole"
5. "Fire Leap"
6. "The Tinker Of Rye"
7. "Willow's Song"
8. "Procession"
9. "Chop Chop"
10. "Lullaby"
11. "Festival" / "Mirie It Is" / "Sumer Is A-Cumen In"
12. "Opening Music" / "Loving Couples" / "The Ruined Church"
13. "The Masks" / "The Hobby Horse"
14. "Searching For Rowan"
15. "Appointment With The Wicker Man"
16. "Sunset"

External links

• Lyrics and background information
• An instrumental version of "Willow's Song" on the record label's website