Down by the Sally Gardens And Related Songs

Today's song is Down by the Sally Gardens, an adaptation of a poem by WB Yeats, not to be confused with the reel titled "Sally Gardens". The word 'salley' is lesser known English variation of the word 'sallow', meaning 'willow'. It is similar to the Irish word 'saileach', Old English 'sealh' and the Latin 'salix', all also meaning 'willow'.

I have chosen the gorgeous arrangement sung by Maura O'Connell with Karen Matheson, seen on the BBC/RTE co-production, TransAtlantic Sessions.

The lyrics, as written by WB Yeats, are as as follows:

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 love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;

But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.

In a field by the river my love and I did stand,

And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.

She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;

But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.

The poem was originally published in 'The Wandering of Oisin and Other Poems' as 'An Old Sung Resung' According to Yeats, 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 identity of this song is uncertain, but it is likely to have been "The Rambling Boys of Pleasure". This song can be found here, arranged by Andy Irvine.

The lyrics of the song are as follows:

You rambling boys of pleasure, give ear to those few lines I write,
Although I'm a rover, and in roving I take great delight.
I set my mind on a handsome girl who ofttimes did me slight,
But my mind was never easy till my darling were in my sight.

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 very next time I met my love, sure I thought her heart was mine,
But as the weather changes, my true love she changed her mind.
Cursed gold is the root of evil, oh it shines with a glittering hue,
Causes many the lad and lass to part, let their hearts be ever so true.

Sure I wish I was in Dublin town, and my true love along with me.
With money to support us and keep us in good company.
With lots of liquor plentiful, flowing bowls on every side,
Let fortune never daunt you, my love, we're both young and the world is wide.

But there's one thing more that grieves me sore is to be called a runaway
And to leave the spot I was born in, oh Cupid cannot set me free,
And to leave that darling girl I love, oh alas, what will I do?
Will I become a rover, sleep with the girl I never knew

Yeat's words, based off of You Rambling Boys of Pleasure, were never set to that song's tune. Instead, they have been adapted to various different melodies. These include the Moorlough Shore (also the tune of "The Foggy Dew") in 1909 by Herbert Hughes, an original piece by Rebecca Clarke in the 1920s, a piece by John Ireland in 1934, a vocal setting by Ivor Gurney in 1938, and a setting by Benjamin Britten in 1943. The version by Britten, based on an earlier Irish tune, is the most widely used one in folk music circles today, and the one that Maura O'Connell sings above.

Also, of interest is an American song with a similar tune and name, called "Down in a Willow Garden", also known as "Rose Connelly". It can be found on this video, performed by the Kossoy Sisters.

Interestingly, this version of the song radically departs from  takes the form of a murder ballad, with the following lyrics

Down in the willow garden


Where me and my love did meet


there we sat a-courtin'


My love dropped off to sleep
I had a bottle of Burgunday wine
which my true love did not know
and there I poisoned that dear little girl
down under the banks below

I stabbed her with my dagger
which was a bloody knife
I threw her into the river
which was a dreadful sight
my father often told me
that money would set me free
if I would murder that dear little girl
whose name was Rose Connelly

and now he sits by his old cottage door
wiping his tear-dimmed eyes
and now he waits for his own dear son
upon the scaffold high
my race is run beneath the sun
though Hell's now waiting for me
for I did murder that dear little girl
whose name was Rose Connelly

This song likely originated in Ireland before coming to America. A song called "Rose Connelly" is mentioned by folk music collector Edward Bunting in Coleraine near Derry in 1811, and a version of the song was documented in Galway in 1923. In America, the song was originally restricted to Appalachia, leading later folk music historian DK Wigley to conjecture that "It is as if an Irish local song never popularized on broadsides was spread by a single Irish peddler on his travels through Appalachia." The song was first documented in America in 1895 in Wetzel County, West Virginia.  Cecil Sharpe documented the song's existence in North Carolina and Virginia in 1918. Though a wide variety of verses have historically existed, the song has become solidified to a standard several verses through recording and popularization. The first professional recording was done in 1927 by GB Grayson and , and the song became more widely known following Charlie Monroe's recording in 1947.

It is likely that the lyrics of "Down by the Willow Gardens" are related to the Irish song Wexford Girl,  also known as Oxford Girl or The Bloody Miller, which also gave rise to the American song Knoxville Girl. Wexford Girl is itself likely derived from the old English song, The Cruel Miller. It has been noted that part of the melody is only similar to Down in Sally Gardens, but is also the melody to Rosin the Beau. These several songs, however, will be the subjects of a future posts.