Live Jam - August

When I saw the prompt ‘Rivers’, I thought about the River Dee. I pass it every time I travel from my house to my Mam's, and I always think how sad and lonely are the songs connected to it. On one hand there is the Miller of Dee, fiercely independent and caring for nobody. He is described as jolly and blithe, but the sting is in the tail – he has nobody to care for him. He is completely independent, and proclaims that he is happy that way, but the minor key is very apt. Even if the miller won’t admit his loneliness, we can feel it for him.

The other song which features this river is a Welsh folk song, “Yr Eneth Gath ei Gwrthod”, about a young woman abandoned by her lover, and ostracised by her community. Her crime? Becoming pregnant. She walks away, frightened and heartsick, and eventually goes to the only shelter there is left for her – she drowns herself in the river Dee.

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Time has swept by, and I have been under a dark cloud of pain for the past 24 hours. This isn’t really an proper ‘Rivers’ entry, more of a dried-up creek. I like the idea, though. I’ll try again next month.