BRASS BAND: Arirang Traditional / Arr. Roland Smeets

"Arirang" is a Korean folk song, often considered the unofficial national anthem of Korea. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to, "Arirang, arirang, arariyo. It is estimated the song is more than 600 years old. According to one legend, the name is derived from the story of a bachelor and a maiden who fell in love while picking camellia blossoms near the wharf at Auraji. In one version of the story, the bachelor cannot cross the Auraji to meet the maiden because the water is too high, and they sing a song to express their sorrow. In another version of the story, the bachelor attempts to cross the Auraji and drowns, singing the sorrowful song after he dies.