Down By The Salley Gardens
Encyclopedia
Down by the Salley Gardens (Irish
: Gort na Saileán) is a poem by William Butler Yeats
published in The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems
in 1889. Yeats indicated in a note that it was "an attempt to reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant woman in the village of Ballisodare, Sligo, who often sings them to herself." The "old song" may have been the ballad "The Rambling Boys of Pleasure."
The lyrics to The Rambling Boys of Pleasure contain the following verse:
"It was down by Sally's Garden one evening late I took my way.
'Twas there I spied this pretty little girl, and those words to
me sure she did say.
She advised me to take love easy, as the leaves grew on the tree.
But I was young and foolish, with my darling could not agree."
The similarity to the first verse of the Yeats version is unmistakable and would suggest that this was indeed the song Yeats remembered the old woman singing. The rest of the song, however, is quite different.
Yeats's original title, "An Old Song Re-Sung", reflected his debt to The Rambling Boys of Pleasure. It first appeared under its present title when it was reprinted in Poems in 1895. The verse was subsequently set to music by Herbert Hughes
to the air
The Maids of the Mourne Shore in 1909. In the 1920s composer Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979) set the text to music. There is also a vocal setting by the poet and composer Ivor Gurney
, which was published in 1938; and another by Benjamin Britten
published in 1943. The composer John Ireland
earlier set the words to an original melody in his cycle "Songs Sacred and Profane', written in 1934.
"Salley" or "sally" is a form of the Standard English word "sallow", i.e., a tree of the genus Salix. It is close in sound to the Irish word saileach, meaning willow
.
where the residents cultivated trees to provide roof thatching
materials.
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
: Gort na Saileán) is a poem by William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
published in The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems
The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems
The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems was the first collection of poems by William Butler Yeats. It was published in 1889.In addition to the title poem, the last epic-scale poem that Yeats ever wrote, the book includes a number of short poems that Yeats would later collect under the title...
in 1889. Yeats indicated in a note that it was "an attempt to reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant woman in the village of Ballisodare, Sligo, who often sings them to herself." The "old song" may have been the ballad "The Rambling Boys of Pleasure."
The lyrics to The Rambling Boys of Pleasure contain the following verse:
"It was down by Sally's Garden one evening late I took my way.
'Twas there I spied this pretty little girl, and those words to
me sure she did say.
She advised me to take love easy, as the leaves grew on the tree.
But I was young and foolish, with my darling could not agree."
The similarity to the first verse of the Yeats version is unmistakable and would suggest that this was indeed the song Yeats remembered the old woman singing. The rest of the song, however, is quite different.
Yeats's original title, "An Old Song Re-Sung", reflected his debt to The Rambling Boys of Pleasure. It first appeared under its present title when it was reprinted in Poems in 1895. The verse was subsequently set to music by Herbert Hughes
Herbert Hughes (musicologist)
Herbert Hughes was an Irish composer, music critic and collector of folk songs.He was born and brought up in Belfast, Ireland, but completed his formal music education at the Royal College of Music, London, graduating in 1901...
to the air
Air (music)
Air , a variant of the musical song form, is the name of various song-like vocal or instrumental compositions.-English lute ayres:...
The Maids of the Mourne Shore in 1909. In the 1920s composer Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979) set the text to music. There is also a vocal setting by the poet and composer Ivor Gurney
Ivor Gurney
Ivor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
, which was published in 1938; and another by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
published in 1943. The composer John Ireland
John Ireland (composer)
John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer.- Life :John Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His father, Alexander Ireland, a publisher and newspaper proprietor, was aged 70 at John's birth...
earlier set the words to an original melody in his cycle "Songs Sacred and Profane', written in 1934.
"Salley" or "sally" is a form of the Standard English word "sallow", i.e., a tree of the genus Salix. It is close in sound to the Irish word saileach, meaning willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
.
Poem
- Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
- She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
- She bid me take life easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
- But I, being young and foolish, with her did not agree.
- In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
- And on my leaning shoulder she placed her snow-white hand.
- She bid me take love easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
- But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
Location
It has been suggested that the location of the "Salley Gardens" was on the banks of the river at Ballysadare near SligoSligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
where the residents cultivated trees to provide roof thatching
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
materials.
Recordings
The song has been part of the repertoire of many singers and groups. Notable recordings include:- Peter PearsPeter PearsSir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
on his 10-inch 78rpm Decca set (LA 30), with piano accompaniment by Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to... - Kathleen FerrierKathleen FerrierKathleen Mary Ferrier CBE was an English contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar...
in 1949 - John McCormack in 1941, by EMI, reissued on Pearl's "Final Recordings 1941-42" (1995)
- Alfred DellerAlfred DellerAlfred George Deller CBE , was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularizing the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th Century....
his album Western Wind (1958) - Kenneth McKellarKenneth McKellar (singer)Kenneth McKellar was a Scottish tenor.-Career:McKellar studied forestry at the University of Aberdeen, after graduation working for the Scottish Forestry Commission. He later trained at the Royal College of Music as an opera singer...
on his album The Songs of Ireland (1960) - Marianne FaithfullMarianne FaithfullMarianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
on her joint-debut album of folk songs, Come My Way (1965) - Clannad on their live albums Clannad in ConcertClannad in ConcertClannad in Concert is the fourth album by Irish folk group Clannad. It is their first live album, taken from a 1978 concert while on tour in Switzerland and was released in 1979. It was during this tour that the group decided to go professional...
(1979) and Clannad Live in Concert (2005), and on the compilation album Celtic Myst (1997) - James GalwayJames Galway- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...
recorded a flute instrumental version which has appeared on several of his albums - Angelo BranduardiAngelo BranduardiAngelo Branduardi , is an Italian folk singer and composer who scored relevant success in Italy and European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.- Biography :...
on his album Branduardi canta Yeats (1986) - Soprano Arleen AugerArleen AugerJoyce Arleen Auger was an American soprano singer, admired for her coloratura voice and interpretations of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Gluck, and Mozart.-Biography:...
recorded Benjamin Britten's arrangement on her album Love Songs (1988) - Male soprano Aris ChristofellisAris ChristofellisAris Christofellis is a sopranist who was born in Athens on 5 February 1960. After studying piano in Athens and Paris, he decided to concentrate on developing his singing voice.He made his debut in Bordeaux in 1984...
accompanied by Theodore Kotepanos on piano, on the album Recital (1989) - Tomás Mac Eoin, who recorded it with instrumental accompaniment by The WaterboysThe WaterboysThe Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
, released by Mac Eoin as a single in 1989 and also on the 2008 collectors' edition of the Waterboys album Room to RoamRoom to RoamRoom to Roam is an album by The Waterboys; it continued the folk-rock sound of 1988's Fisherman's Blues, but was less of a commercial success, reaching one-hundred and eighty on the Billboard Top 200 after its release in September 1990. Critical response continues to be mixed... - The Rankin FamilyThe Rankin FamilyThe Rankin Family is a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four SOCAN Awards, three Canadian Country Music Awards and two Big Country Music Awards.- Career...
on their greatest hits album CollectionCollection (The Rankin Family album)Collection is the first greatest hits album by Canadian folk music group The Rankin Family. It was released by EMI in 1996. The album peaked at number 1 on the RPM Country Albums chart.-Track listing:#"Roving Gypsy Boy Remix" – 4:05...
(1996) - Maura O'ConnellMaura O'ConnellMaura O'Connell is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music.-Background:...
on her album Wandering Home (1997) and with Karen MathesonKaren MathesonKaren Matheson OBE is a Scottish folk singer, who frequently sings in Scottish Gaelic. She is lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Heritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang lead vocals, either alone or jointly with Elaine Morgan...
during Transatlantic Sessions 2 (1998) - TamalinTamalin (band)Tamalin is a family-based band from west Belfast who originally began playing Irish traditional music in the early 1980s under the name The McSherrys...
, who recorded an Irish language version of the song on the 1997 compilation album Now and in a Time to Be, a collection of Yeats' poems set to music - Bardic, on her Album "Greenish"
- Dolores KeaneDolores KeaneDolores Keane is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the successful group De Dannan, and has since embarked on a very successful solo career, establishing herself as one of the most loved interpreters of Irish song.-Background:Keane was born in a small village...
, in a recording used during the end credits to the 1998 film Dancing at LughnasaDancing at Lughnasa (film)Dancing at Lughnasa is a 1998 film adapted from the Brian Friel play of the same title, directed by Pat O'Connor.The movie competed in the Venice Film Festival of 1998. It won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Female Role by Brid Brennan... - Órla FallonÓrla FallonÓrlagh Fallon , professionally known as Órla Fallon, is an Irish soloist, songwriter and former member of the group Celtic Woman and the chamber choir Anúna.- Life and career :...
of Celtic WomanCeltic WomanCeltic Woman is an all-female musical ensemble conceived and assembled by Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance...
on her solo CD The Water is Wide (2000) - Andreas SchollAndreas SchollAndreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range. He is noted as a specialist in Baroque music.-Childhood:...
on the CD Wayfaring Stranger (2001) - Kathy KellyKathy Ann KellyKathy Ann Kelly born Kathleen Ann Kelly on the 6 March 1963 was one of the oldest members of the musical family group The Kelly Family and its producer for years....
on her album Straight from My Heart (2002) - "Redbird" on the album RedbirdRedbird (Redbird album)Redbird is the title of a recording by Jeffrey Foucault, Kris Delmhorst and Peter Mulvey, released in 2003.-History:All three are artists on the Signature Sounds label and regularly toured together. Foucault and Delmhorst are married. The trio worked out many of the songs on the road allowing them...
by Jeffrey Foucault, Kris Delmhorst, and Peter Mulvey (2005) - Méav Ní MhaolchathaMéav Ní MhaolchathaMéav Ní Mhaolchatha is an Irish singer and recording artist specializing in the traditional music of her homeland. She was one of the original soloists in the musical ensemble Celtic Woman. She sings in multiple languages: English, Gaelic, French and Latin....
, also from Celtic Woman, sung it on her solo CD Celtic Journey (2006) - The WhiffenpoofsThe WhiffenpoofsThe Yale Whiffenpoofs are the oldest collegiate a cappella group in the United States, established in 1909. Best known for "The Whiffenpoof Song", based on a tune written by Tod Galloway and adapted with lyrics by Meade Minnigerode & George S Pomeroy , the group comprises college...
have released a number of recordings with additional verses of a John Kelley arrangement of the Hughes melody - Soprano Sissel KyrkjebøSissel KyrkjebøSissel Kyrkjebø , also simply known as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano.Sissel is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Sissel's musical style runs the gamut from pop recordings and folk songs, to classical vocals and operatic arias...
on her album Into Paradise (2006) - Black 47Black 47Black 47 are a New York City based celtic rock band with Irish Republican sympathies, whose music also shows influence from reggae, hip hop, folk and jazz...
on 40 Shades of Blue - Cambridge SingersCambridge SingersCambridge Singers is an English mixed voice chamber/choral group formed in 1981 by their director John Rutter with the primary purpose of making recordings under their own label "Collegium"....
in an arrangement by John RutterJohn RutterJohn Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the... - Tangerine DreamTangerine DreamTangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
, who recorded an instrumental version for their Choice EP (2008) - Judith OwenJudith OwenJudith Owen is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her first North American album, Emotions on a Postcard, was released in 1996, and has since been followed by five additional releases...
who performed the song as part of Richard Thompson's 1000 Years of Popular Music1000 Years of Popular Music1000 Years of Popular Music is a live album by Richard Thompson.The album was originally conceived after Thompson was ignored by Playboy magazine; initially meant simply as a list to be printed by the magazine, it was subsequently published into CD format. The songs comprising the tracklist cover a...
in a live DVD (2008) - The Canadian singer and songwriter Loreena McKennittLoreena McKennittLoreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...
on her album The Wind That Shakes the BarleyThe Wind That Shakes the Barley (album)-Track listing:# "As I Roved Out" # "On a Bright May Morning" # "Brian Boru’s March" # "Down by the Sally Gardens" # "The Star of the County Down" # "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" # "The Death of Queen Jane"...
(2010) - Japanese singer Hitomi Azuma for the ending theme of FractaleFractaleis an 11-episode Japanese anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures and Ordet and directed by Yutaka Yamamoto. The story was developed by Hiroki Azuma and the screenplay was written by Mari Okada, with original character design by Hidari. The anime began airing in Japan in January 2011 on...
See also
- 1889 in poetry1889 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Canada:* William Wilfred Campbell, Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).-Canada:* William Wilfred Campbell, Nationality...
- List of works by William Butler Yeats
- Down in the Willow GardenDown in the Willow Garden"Down in the Willow Garden", also known as "Rose Connelly" is a traditional Appalachian murder ballad about a man facing the gallows for the murder of his lover: he gave her poisoned wine, stabbed her, and threw her in a river. It originated in the 19th century, probably in Ireland, before becoming...
, a traditional folk song with similar lyrics
External links
- Ariella Uliano: 'Salley Gardens' song from the album 'A.U. (almost) a Compilation', 2009.
- http://www.irishmusicforever.com/down-by-the-salley-gardens