This collection of music speaks for my love of the countryside, the woods, and the stories told within those bounds. The ballads, songs and dance tunes span four centuries. I am indebted to all of my sources for the material, and as well as their sources: the singers and musicians who have shared their music. 1. The Four Seasons (Brian Pearson) - This is an anthem for the year's turning: a song centred in the depth of the greenwood. Followed by a traditional French rigadon, learned from the French band, Lo Jai. 2. The Gypsy Laddie - A traditional Scots ballad (Child #200) learned from the singing of Cilla Fisher: a great story of "love versus the class system". 3. Suí Síos fá mo Dhídean - A traditional Irish harp tune played on the harpsichord. I first heard this played by Irish scholar Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. According to his notes, the tune was first collected by Edward Bunting from the harper Charles Byrne in 1799. 4. We Be Soldiers Three/ Bourrée Mouregue – This 16th century song appears in the English collection Popular Music of the Olden Time by William Chappell. I first heard it sung by Lani Herrmann. The French bourrée is from fiddler Christian Oller. 5. Knight William and the Shepherd's Daughter - (Child ballad #110). Aside from being a lesson in seventeenth century manners, this is a difficult story, but it ultimately champions the strength and persistence of the young woman in question. This version of the ballad, collected in Somerset, England, is from the singing of The Young Tradition. 6. Burr Oak (P.Tutty) - Dedicated to Sara Williams, an advocate of bad puns and a dear friend who continues to encourage my attempts to grow an oak forest in my back yard. 7. The Maple's Lament (Laurie Lewis) - A song written to the memory of the wood itself—the tree spirit. 8. The Road to Heaven (Matthew Manera) - A song about longing, freedom and choices. The title and several lines in the song suggest references to fairyland or middle earth. 9. La Fleur de Bruyère - This French dance tune from the English band Blowzabella is also known as "Spanish Jig". 10. William Glen – An ocean voyage with its share of treachery and the supernatural, this is a variant of the Child ballad "Brown Robyn's Confession" (Child # 57) which I learned from the singing of Nic Jones. 11. Thousands or More - From the repertoire of England's Copper Family, this has always been one of my favourite chorus songs. 12. Auré Françoise - This is a waltz from the French piper M. Buisson that I learned by osmosis from Lo Jai’s first album of Limousin folk music. 13. The Cuckoo - An Irish variant of a traditional song of lost love, learned many years ago from the singing of Anne Briggs. Musicians Paddy Tutty – lead vocals, guitar (2, 5, 8, 10) fretted dulcimer (1, 9) fiddle (1, 4, 10,) anglo-concertina (2, 9, 10, 12) harpsichord (3, 6) John Geggie - double-bass (1, 2, 5, 8) Andy Daub - whistles (2, 8, 10, 13) uilleann pipes (13) Kathy Armstrong - Kroboto (4), log drum (1) doumbek (1), hand claps (4), tambourine (4, 5, 9) Wendy Davis - back-up vocals (5, 8, 11) Shelley Posen - back-up vocals (4, 11) Ian Tamblyn – guitar (2, 10), hammered dulcimer (5), harmonium (4), zither (1), piano (8), Roland JV1080 (5, 7, 8, 10), vocals (2), chimes & found sounds (7) The Ottawa Folklore Centre chorus: Suzanne Garmsen, Arthur McGregor, Angie McMahon, Gary Stein and Barbara Tose. (11) Produced by Ian Tamblyn.