'Oh daisy, oxeye daisy, you gotta go': invasive weed song contest hits radio gold

Fitting phrases like 'scentlesss chamomille' and 'toss into the landfill' a 'good challenge' for Peace-region musician Dori Braun.

Local government contest required lyrics to include 'scentless chamomile' and 'toss into the landfill'

Andrew Kurjata · CBC News ·
Dori Braun performs as a solo artist and as part of the band 'Dirty Little Kitchen.' (Dori Braun)

Some musicians might balk at being told they have to fit phrases like "scentless chamomile" and "toss in the landfill" into a 60 second song, but Dori Braun embraced the challenge.

"The words were all there, I just had to find the rhymes to make them flow well," she said. "It's like a crossword puzzle... a good challenge."

Braun is the winner of a local government contest to highlight the dangers of invasive weeds in northeastern B.C.'s Peace River region.

    Peace River Regional District manager of invasive plants Kari Bondaroff said the contest was an effort to take a creative approach to telling locals about the problems caused by invasive plants that have been spreading in the area over the past two decades.

    The Peace River Regional District in northeastern B.C. does not like daisies. (Peace River Regional District)

    "They reduce forage values, they're costly to eradicate, and then they upset the natural balance of our ecosystem," she said.

    The rules for the contest were strict: the lyrics had to include both "oxeye daisies" and "scentless chamomile", the tune had to come in at exactly 60 seconds and the music had to be in the style of country, soft rock or folk.

    Bondaroff said they received ten entries and while they were "all great," the consensus decision was Braun's ditty.

    "It was just a [song] that made you smile," she said. "You could picture listening to it on the radio."

    The winner of the Peace River Regional District's contest to write a song about destroying noxious weeds in northeastern B.C. was won by the group Dirty Little Kitchen. 0:59

    Braun and the other members of her band, Dirty Litle Kitchen, were then set up in a studio to record the final product, which will air on local radio stations as well as a in part of a video to be played in movie theatres.

    The experience has inspired Braun to go back and remaster some of her older songs, and perhaps record a new album for the first time in several years.

    And she expects to incorporate the jingle into her live performances, as she is pleased with the final product.

    "I felt like it was a winner, and I don't get that feeling very often," she said.  

    "I wish more of life was like, 'Yes, that's the one.'" 


    After seening a contest to write a radio jingle about invasive plants, songwriter Dori Braun of the Peace-region band 'Dirty Little Kitchen' was inspired to rhyme "scentless chamomile" with "put into the landfill". And when she won, a conversation in the recording studio inspired her to go back to some of her older songs. She speaks with Carolina de Ryk. 7:08

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