Withy
A withy or withe is a strong flexible willow stem - typically used in thatching and for gardening.
Several species and hybrid cultivars of willows (often known as osiers) are grown for withy production; typical species include Salix acutifolia, Salix daphnoides, Salix × mollissima, Salix purpurea, Salix triandra, and Salix viminalis.
The term is also sometimes used to describe any type of flexible rod used in rural crafts such as hazel or ash.
Withies traditionally serve to mark minor tidal channels in UK harbours and estuaries. In many places they remain in use as of 2015 and are often marked on navigation charts. At high tide the tops of a line of withies stuck in the mud on one or both sides of a channel will show above water to indicate where the deeper water lies. Note the images of international navigation-chart symbols for withies (port and starboard).
Places such as Wythenshawe and Withy Grove (both in Manchester) take their names from the willow woods and groves that grew there in earlier times. The Somerset Levels remain the only area in the UK growing basket willow commercially.
The Bitter Withy
The Bitter Withy is an English folk song reflecting an unusual and apocryphal vernacular idea of Jesus Christ. The withy of the title is the Willow and song gives an explanation as to why the willow tree rots from the centre out, rather than the outside in. The song is given an update in a recent recording by the renowned British folk artist, John Tams on his acclaimed album 'The Reckoning' (2005; won 2006 the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for the 'Best Album') and is contained in 'The Definitive Collection' (2007) also.
The Bitter Withy
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Podcasts:
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Helpless Dancer
by: Who, The[Roger's theme]
When a man is running from his boss
Who hold a gun that fires "cost"
And people die from being cold
Or left alone because they're old
And bombs are dropped on fighting cats
And children's dreams are run with rats
If you complain you disappear
Just like the lesbians and queers
No one can love without the grace
Of some unseen and distant face
And you get beaten up by blacks
Who though they worked still got the sack
And when your soul tells you to hide
Your very right to die denied
And in the battle on the streets
You fight computers and receipts
And when a man is trying to change
But only causes further pain
You realize that all along
Something in us going wrong...
You stop dancing.