Una Matika de Ruda (Vocal Solo)

Flory never recorded this song, nor is it in her songbook, but it was very well-known in Balkan Sephardic communities. It’s likely that Flory heard and remembered her Nona singing this song; Flory in turn taught it to Susan. Flory told Susan that young single women would carry a sprig of rue for luck when going out with a likely young man, in hopes that a marriage proposal would be forthcoming. Like many Sephardic songs, this one is a dialogue between mother and daughter. In this song and many others we see the crucial role of women in creating songs and passing them along from one generation to the next, much as Flory’s Nona did for her, and Flory did for many who have followed in her footsteps.