To welcome the new year, we’re bringing you an amazing performance from two American banjo player legends, Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck. They perform Hao Huo Hong literally meaning Good Flower Red.
The lyrics speak about the small red flowers that make up the blossoms of the pears trees on the mountains above the Yan River. Abigail Washburn relates the song’s history and the significance of the red flower in China:
“Hao Hua Hong is an age-old folk song from the native Buyi people who live in the high mountain forests of Guizhou. I learned the song from a record of the artist Gong Linna called Traditional Chinese Folk Songs. Every time this song would go by as I listened to her record I was moved by the quality of her voice and the idea of one small red leaf making a mountain to look of fire.”