Friday 7 January 2011

Song Saturday; Runrig, Our earth was once Green

An old favourite, Runrig, Our Earth was Once Green

and just inn case there is any one who doesn't know.......from Wikipedia

''Runrig are a Scottish Celtic rock group formed in Skye, in 1973 under the name 'The Run Rig Dance Band'. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The current line-up also includes longtime members Malcolm Jones, Iain Bayne, and more recently, Bruce Guthro, and Brian Hurren. To date, the band have released thirteen studio albums, with a number of their songs sung in Scottish Gaelic.''

AND............a nice little bit of history. .......The run-rig system was the means by which arable land was divided up in almost all of medieval Europe.
Land held run-rig meant different strips of arable land were allotted each year to the peasantry. This was done in such a way so as to ensure everyone got a share of the better and worst ground in different years.
However, this system lead to bad agricultural practices, with the inevitable consequence of general impoverishment of all the available arable land. No-one was in a hurry to manure a field or maintain drainage if there was no guarantee of getting the same piece of land the following year.
In medieval Europe this system
of alloting land was almost universal until the mid 18th century when rural populations were rising at a vast rate, due to better diets and improved medical care. Around this time there was major upheaval in European society and revision of land management and ownership.



5 comments:

  1. I have heard of Runrig, but ashamed to say have listened to very little of their work. I really like this song.

    The title reminds me of a line from the movie 'Avatar', where Jake Sully is talking to 'aiwa', the Navi's deity, asking for help in the fight against the humans

    "If Grace is with you, look at her memories. Look at the world they came from. There is no green. They killed their mother"

    ReplyDelete
  2. ahhh...........yes I remember you saying, another convert to the wonders which are 'Avatar'.........what a film, more like a religion :-)
    I like Runrig, always have,

    ReplyDelete
  3. Runrig is new to me, I do like the song a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Do you think Donald Trump would get the message in this video?

    ReplyDelete
  5. unfortunatly not..............he doesn't hear any thing he doesn't want to hear

    ReplyDelete