Radie Peat | Willow Garden | Western AF

Radie Peat sings “Willow Garden,” an old murder ballad known also as “Rose Connelly.”

Its roots run deep into Ireland. One of those songs that travelled in the mouths of people and through time. Nobody quite knows where this song began, but the whispers kept it alive.

A boy takes a girl down to the willow garden. There is talk of love. Of marriage. Then something turns. He poisons her, or puts a knife to her, depending on who is telling it. She falls. He throws her body into the river. The wa