The Bean Flower

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a stark contrast between the hawthorn's "drooping smell and sad" presence and the bean flower's potent, almost divine, scent. This olfactory difference isn't just aesthetic; it's framed as a force of nature, with God giving the bean its fragrance "to drive each lass unto her lad." The hawthorn, though perhaps beautiful, lacks this compelling allure, making it a passive observer to the bean's active, procreative power. The narrator acknowledges the hawthorn's harmlessness, noting it "hath not curses at my hand," but this passive acceptance is overshadowed by a deep, personal anguish. The central tension arises from the narrator's longing for a lover who is "in Normandy," creating a painful disconnect. The very scent that is meant to draw lovers together becomes a source of torment for the narrator. "Oh! The Scent of the bean flower / Is like a burning fire in me," they lament. This burning is not one of passion fulfilled, but of desire unrequited and proximity impossible, turning a natural aphrodisiac into a symbol of their isolation and pain. The most striking craft element is the personification and contrasting symbolism of the flora. The hawthorn is presented as a gentle, perhaps mournful, entity, while the bean flower is an active, almost aggressive agent of attraction. The narrator's ultimate curse, "would the man were never born / That sowed the bean along his land!" reveals the depth of their despair. They don't curse the flower itself, but the very act of its cultivation, as if wishing to undo the natural order that now amplifies their suffering by reminding them of what they lack. This lyrical construction is effective because it grounds abstract longing in concrete sensory detail and natural imagery. The specific, almost visceral, reaction to the bean flower's scent – a "burning fire" – makes the narrator's emotional state palpable. By juxtaposing this intense personal pain with the natural, divinely ordained purpose of the bean flower, the lyrics create a profound sense of individual suffering against the backdrop of an indifferent, or even mocking, natural world.