Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind
Music written and performed by Andy Hansen
Lyric by William Shakespeare
from the 2008 Writers Theatre production of
AS YOU LIKE IT by William Shakespeare
Directed by William Brown
Set Design by Keith Pitts
Costume Design by Rachel Healy
Lighting Design by Charlie Cooper
One of the ideas Shakespeare explores in AS YOU LIKE IT the contrast between town and country – or, in his world, the royal court and rural folk. It is a story of political refugees hiding in the forest. This production was done in a modern setting and we decided one of those refugees was a cabaret/jazz singer and this song was meant to sound like part of her repertoire. I recorded a demo for the actors using a guitar accompaniment as this is how it was sung in the show. In the intervening years, I’ve taken my original vocal recording and added a jazz trio of piano, bass, and drums.