Show of Hands Plays The Best Halloween Song I Have Ever Heard (video)

Show of Hands Plays The Best Halloween Song I Have Ever Heard from Michal Shapiro on Vimeo.

"Go light the lantern at your door
And honour those who've gone before
The worlds that part us now are twain
For Hallow's Eve is here again."

A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of attending the English Folk Expo or EFEx. (And I'll be posting a LOT about EFEx and the artists later!)

Although I love English folk music, I had never heard of a single artist that performed during those three intensive days. The level of musicianship was amazingly high, and certainly one of the most memorable performances was by the knockout power trio Show of Hands, who packed the spacious Drill Hall in the Castle Armory. This song immediately struck me as one I wanted to share right away as Halloween approaches. It's called "Hallow's Eve" and was written by Chris Hoban, a music teacher and friend of the band from their hometown of Topsham in Devon.

It describes a holiday that is a far cry from the Halloween we now "celebrate." I have no problem with children dressing up and going door to door asking for sweets. I do have misgivings about forgetting the true, older spirit of the holiday, which is much closer to the Day of the Dead; in which the souls of our forebears are able to communicate with us, and we with them.

As this song states it is a time of both joy and reflection, as the fruits of harvest are gathered in, we await the harshness of winter, and we contemplate the cycles of the seasons and our lives.

So when you place that candle in your Jack o' Lantern this year, maybe think of it as more than just a smiley-face carved in a pumpkin. Take a moment and "honour those who've gone before."

For more information about Show of Hands visit: http://www.showofhands.co.uk/
For more information about the EFEx visit: http://www.englishfolkexpo.com/
For more of Michal's world music videos visit: http://inter-muse.com