Greensleeves

Greensleeves is a traditional English folk song (or tune), basically a ground of the form called a romanesca; the widely believed legend is that it was composed by King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) for his lover and future Queen, Anne Boleyn. Anne, the youngest daughter of the earl of Wiltshire, rejected Henry's attempts to seduce her. This rejection is apparently referred to in the song, when the writer's love "cast me off discurteously". It is not known if the legend is true, but the song is still commonly associated with Anne Boleyn in the public's mind.

Related Topics:
English - Folk song - Romanesca - Henry VIII - 1491 - 1547 - Anne Boleyn - The earl of Wiltshire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It likely circulated in manuscript, as most social music did, long before it was printed. A tune by this name was registered at the London Stationer's Company in 1580 as "A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves." No copy of that printing is known. It appears in the surviving A Handful of Pleasant Delights (1584) as "A New Courtly Sonnet of the Lady Green Sleeves. To the new tune of Green sleeves." It remains debatable whether this suggests that an old tune of "Greensleeves" was in circulation, or which one our familiar tune is.

Related Topics:
1580 - 1584

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, written around 1602, the character Mistress Ford refers twice without any explanation to "the tune of 'Green Sleeves'", but the best known reference, also from The Merry Wives of Windsor, has Falstaff exclaim:

Related Topics:
The Merry Wives of Windsor - 1602 - Falstaff

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of 'Greensleeves'!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All of these allusions suggest that the song was well known at that time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Greensleeves" has inspired a number of derivative works. The British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) composed a Falstaff opera, Sir John in Love (1935), from which Ralph Greaves adapted a Fantasia on "Greensleeves." Its slow tempo has inspired modern languishing renditions. The Christmas carol "What Child is This?" by William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898) used the melody of "Greensleeves" (Bébé Dieu in French).

Related Topics:
Ralph Vaughan Williams - 1872 - 1958 - Falstaff - Opera - 1935 - Tempo - Christmas - Carol - What Child is This? - William Chatterton Dix - 1837 - 1898

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are many versions of the traditional lyrics of "Greensleeves" as a conventional lover's lament, often varying simply in the syllabic density. The first printed version begins:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Alas my loue, ye do me wrong,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

::to cast me off discurteously:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:And I haue loued you so long

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

::Delighting in your companie.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Greensleeues was all my ioy,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

::Greensleeues was my delight:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Greensleeues was my heart of gold,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

::And who but Ladie Greensleeues.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many versions use updated grammar, or a mix. Here is the same verse in a sparser version:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Alas, my love, you do me wrong

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:To cast me out discourteously,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:For I have loved you for so long,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Delighting in your company.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During a "Stump the Band" segment on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, an audience member sang a ditty called "Green Stamps", about a grocery clerk, to that tune. The refrain began, "Green Stamps were all she gave . . ."

Related Topics:
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - Green Stamps

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leonard Cohen reworked "Greensleeves" into his 1974 song "Leaving Green Sleeves" (off the album New Skin for the Old Ceremony).

Related Topics:
Leonard Cohen - New Skin for the Old Ceremony

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Smothers Brothers sang a modern version of "Greensleeves" with updated lyrics called "Where the Lilac Grows". It is found on their 1962 album The Two Sides of the Smothers Brothers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many other contemporary artists recorded versions of this tune, whether vocal or instrumental, in their own style, including Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Timo Tolkki, Leona Boyd, John Coltrane, Enya, Marianne Faithful, Jethro Tull, Kenny G, Loreena McKennitt, The Moody Blues (with "What Child is This?" lyrics), Oscar Peterson, The Scorpions, Stratovarius, Roger Whittaker, George Winston, Neil Young, The Bill Smith Quartet and others.

Related Topics:
Jeff Beck - Ritchie Blackmore - Timo Tolkki - Leona Boyd - John Coltrane - Enya - Marianne Faithful - Jethro Tull - Kenny G - Loreena McKennitt - The Moody Blues - What Child is This? - Oscar Peterson - The Scorpions - Stratovarius - Roger Whittaker - George Winston - Neil Young - The Bill Smith Quartet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Greensleeves" is also the authorized march of the Canadian Forces Dental Branch.

Related Topics:
March - Canadian Forces - Dental Branch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~