Simon Jones‘ latest offering, ‘The Trees Grow So High,’ sees the man from the experimental trio Harp & a Monkey put his unique spin on a popular traditional tune.
A dark tale about a young man who is married by the age of 14, a father by 15 and dead by the age of 16, Jones places the song in a more modern rhythmic context and soundscape whilst still managing to retain the integrity of the traditional Scottish ballad.
It’s an approach that the multi-instrumentalist and award-winning animator has also carried across to the short visual film he has made to accompany the piece: setting it amid the backdrop of modern high-rise flats and social housing viewed from the depths of a far older woodland – the old looking out on the new and the two running alongside each other to create something mysterious and beguiling.
Jones explains: “There are many versions of this song which have followed a similar arrangement, but whilst I have played around with that arrangement, I have really tried to stay true to the original story.
“The subject of the song is an arranged marriage between a young woman and a boy who is much younger. Despite the pressures there is a genuine affection develops and a genuine and deep sense of lament and mourning when the young man dies. I wanted to explore how I could connect that with current times.”
Better known for his musical work as one-third of the acclaimed experimental folk song and storytelling trio Harp & a Monkey, The Trees Grow So High, is the fourth song from Jones’s forthcoming second solo album of reworked traditional folk standards and self-penned songs – and one in which all of the material is related to themes of death and mortality.
The Trees Grow So High is available NOW on all major streaming services.