Music: 'Up in the Morning Early'

Note on the use of music in Sunset Song
By Dougal Lee, musical director of the Prime Productions production

Up in the Morning Early

Apart from 'Ladies of Spain' and 'Flouers o' the Forest' the other song we use is 'Up in the Morning Early'. This is the song Gibbon specifies Chae using to break the gloomy spell summoned by 'Flouers'. It's an interesting choice of song - it is the tune whistled by Will when he leaves for Argentina, a tune used by Chris and Will as a signal between them. Burns' words are about wanting to stay in bed on a cold morning and the tune manages somehow to be plangent when played slowly and jaunty when played more quickly. In the play of Sunset Song Chae Strachan sings a verse of 'Up in the Morning Early' to dispel the sombre mood conjured by Chris' 'Flouers o' the Forest'. We then play a short version of the tune in a fast reel (4/4) tempo to suggest continued dancing but quickly fade it out to allow the dialogue to continue and the scene to end.

Music: