What could be more English than "Greensleeves"? Nobody knows who wrote it but almost certainly it was not King Henry VIII who was too busy fighting the Catholic church, chasing women and eating chicken drumsticks to compose beautiful music and charming lyrics. Besides there's a certain tenderness in the song that we most certainly would not associate with boorish Henry the Eighth.
The song was first officially registered with The London Stationers' Company in September 1580 but its history is most likely much longer than that.
Today there are a lot of versions of "Greensleeves" out there. Often they are instrumental versions with the lyrics oddly overlooked. Other versions are classical, performed by po-faced trained singers. I wanted to share a version in which the singing would be foremost and the performers would appear to feel the meaning of the old words they were singing.
I chose this version by Peter Hollens and Tim Foust, filmed standing on a cliff at sundown on the west coat of America - Oregon in fact. It is a timeless song about longing, love and rejection - universal themes that may cause listeners to reflect upon our past experiences of romance.
Alas, my love, you do me wrong
To cast me off discourteously
For I have loved you well and long
Delighting in your company
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight
Greensleeves was my heart of gold
And who but my lady greensleeves
Your vows you've broken, like my heart
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity
[Chorus]
I have been ready at your hand
To grant whatever you would crave
I have both wagered life and land
Your love and good-will for to have
[Chorus]
A reference to the lack of handkerchiefs in Tudor England perhaps? " Seriously: "On Christmas Day In The Morning" are Victorian lyrics to this tune.
ReplyDeleteIt is thought that the colour green hinted at prostitution or at least sexual intercourse on green grass.
DeleteAnd here's me thinking it meant green velvet, an expensive fabric owned by upper classes.
DeleteThat was lovely, thank you. We had to learn it in primary school but since then I never remembered more that the first two lines. The tune was the choice of every Mr Whippy
ReplyDeleteice cream van that trundled the streets every summer for a decade or three.
That made me chuckle because English ice cream vans also use "Greensleeves" to sell their cones and lollies.
DeleteThis piece of music conjures up special memories for me. As a small child, I started having piano lessons. The usual method was to learn a piece with just the right hand one week, then the left hand the following week and then put the two hands together. in the third week. At some point, I was given Greensleeves to learn. I must have been about 9 years old. I was told just to learn the right hand, but I fell in love with the piece and learned both hands and hands together all on my own at home. I was so excited to show the piano teacher at my next lesson, but he was so enraged, he threw the piece of music up in the air and it landed under the grand piano. He then made me play scales instead for the whole of the lesson. When I got home in tears, my mother was so angry her chick had been wronged (remember she was the shrinking violet who wouldn't say boo to a goose and about whom I wrote in my post a couple of weeks ago), tore round there to have it out with him. He was in the middle of a lesson with the next pupil, but she made him crawl under the grand piano to retrieve the sheet of music. Next lesson, he patiently listened while I played it - with both hands!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I published this blogpost I never expected such a response. Thanks for sharing. I had a hateful piano teacher at the age of nine who put me off piano playing for life.
DeleteWow. That teacher should have been proud of a pupil who had taught himself and done it well. Shame on him.
DeleteMmm...today's rejections are totally different aren't they!
ReplyDeleteOi! Carol - I'm dumping ya babe! I'm off out with Chardonnay now. She's got more tattoos.
DeleteOften with old traditional songs, you put your own version on YouTube and get a copyright strike because a recent commercial recording is claimed to be original. Maybe not Greensleeves, but quite a lot of folk tunes.
ReplyDeleteWell I never knew that. Interesting.
DeleteThat was quite nice. At the age of eleven I was as a school camp and the mess room cook came out to the communal dining room and screamed to us 'No Chopsticks or Greensleeves on the piano'.
ReplyDeleteWas the mess room cook a fascist?
DeleteBeautiful.
ReplyDelete...and timeless.
DeleteI never knew there were words.
ReplyDeleteWell I have achieved something with this blogpost then.
DeleteI never knew the words to Greensleeves. Sounds like "What child is this", a Christmas carol.
ReplyDeleteWhy not have a go at singing it yourself then Ellen? Perhaps in the bath or shower. Please send a photo.
DeleteThat IS a very good version. A little less gesticulating from the man in the white shirt would be the only improvement.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe he was gesticulating on camera - he was just waving his hands about.
DeleteI learned this melody as a Christmas carol called "What Child Is This?" We used to sing it in church when I was growing up. It was only years later that I realized the tune is "Greensleeves," though I'm not sure I ever heard or read the words before now!
ReplyDeleteAnother person here who learned this as "What Child is This?" I learned it on the piano and it was a favourite to play as its harmonies make it sound complex but in fact it was relatively easy. I agree with Cro that the constant hand waving from one of the singers is distracting but when I don't like watching performers I just shut my eyes and it improves the experience a hundred percent.
ReplyDeleteI was tempted to go into the loft and see if I could retrieve the old 78rpm of Greensleeves (assuming that I kept it). It must be one of the most universally heard tunes and one of the least heard songs.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the video and didn't even notice the hand waving but if I watched again I wouldn't be able to un-see it
ReplyDelete