Song for Mary was written by Karine Polwart for the band as part of our ten year anniversary project Continuum. We are grateful to the School of Scottish Studies for the permission to use Mary Brooksbanks’ voice on the recording. Karine wrote the following for our sleeve notes:
“I love Rachel’s singing and playing and the elegance and energy of The Shee. The idea of a continuum prompted me to offer the band something that connects across time. My song is inspired by jute worker, labour activist, feminist and songwriter Mary Brooksbank, who was born in Aberdeen in 1897, and lived in Dundee from the age of ten. It references her folk classic “Oh Dear Me”. Known also as “The Jute Mill Song”, it’s the only work by a woman featured on the external “writer’s” wall of the Scottish parliament.”
In January 2016, in order to mark their ten year anniversary, The Shee took to the stage in front of a sell-out audience to launch Continuum, – an exciting new project in which they asked six of their favourite folk musicians to compose pieces for the band. The pieces were written by Karine Polwart, Brian Finnegan, Chris Wood, Kathryn Tickell, Martin Simpson and Andy Cutting and performed by The Shee. The album Continuum featuring these pieces plus four new works by the band is released on 23 September with the following launch tour dates:
Friday 23rd September 8pm : Eden Court, Inverness
Saturday 24th September : 7.30pm – The Queens Hall, Edinburgh
Thursday 29th September : The Hug & Pint, Glasgow
Friday 30th September 7.30pm : The Caird Hall, Dundee – info
Saturday 1st October 7.30pm : The Eastgate Centre, Peebles
Friday 14th October : 8pm – Kings place, London
Saturday 15th October : 7.30pm – The Platform, Morecambe
Artist website: http://www.theshee.com
Single title: Jute Mill Song/Song For Mary
Album title: Continuum
Release Date: 23/09/2016
Single artist: The Shee
Single duration: 5:32
Record Label: Shee Records
Catalogue No: SHEE4
Writers: Karine Polwart
Publishers: N/A
Explicit?: No
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