Under the greenwood tree Who loves to lie with me, And [turn]1 [his]2 merry note Unto the sweet bird's throat, Come hither, come hither, come hither: Here shall he see No enemy But winter and rough weather. Who doth ambition shun, And loves to live i' the sun, Seeking the food he eats, And pleas'd with what he gets, Come hither, come hither, come hither: Here shall he see No enemy But winter and rough weather. If it do come to pass That any man turn ass, Leaving his wealth and ease, A stubborn will to please, Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame: Here shall he see Gross fools as he, An if he will come to me. Under the greenwood tree Who loves to lie with me.
In Green Ways
Song Cycle by Herbert Norman Howells (1892 - 1983)
1. Under the greenwood tree  [sung text checked 1 time]
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in As You Like It, Act II, Scene 5
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Mark de Vries) , "Onder het loofdak", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Paavo Cajander)
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot)
- GER German (Deutsch) (Julia Hamann) , "Unterm Baum im Maienwald", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
1 Quilter: "tune"
2 Korngold: "the"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
2. The goat paths  [sung text not yet checked]
The crooked paths go every way Upon the hill -- they wind about Through the heather in and out Of the quiet sunniness. And there the goats, day after day, Stray in sunny quietness. Cropping here and cropping there, As they pause and turn and pass. Now a bit of heather spray, Now a mouthful of the grass. In the deeper sunniness, In the place where nothing stirs. Quietly in quietness. In the quiet of the furze. For a time they come and lie Staring on the roving sky. If you approach they run away. They leap and stare, away they bound. With a sudden angry sound, To the sunny quietude ; Crouching down where nothing stirs In the silence of the furze, Couching down again to brood In the sunny solitude. If I were as wise as they I would stray apart and brood, I would beat a hidden way Through the quiet heather spray To a sunny solitude; And should you come I'd run away, I would make an angry sound, I would stare and turn and bound To the deeper quietude. To the place where nothing stirs In the silence of the furze. In that airy quietness I would think as long as they ; Through the quiet sunniness I would stray away to brood By a hidden beaten way In a sunny solitude. I would think until I found Something I can never find, Something lying on the ground, In the bottom of my mind.
Authorship:
- by James Stephens (1882 - 1950), "The goat paths", appears in Songs from the Clay, first published 1915
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]3. Merry Margaret  [sung text checked 1 time]
Merry Margaret As midsummer flower, Gentle as falcon Or hawk of the tower: With solace and gladness, Much mirth and no madness, All good and no badness; So joyously, So maidenly, So womanly Her demeaning In every thing, Far, far passing That I can indite, Or suffice to write Of Merry Margaret As midsummer flower, Gentle as falcon Or hawk of the tower. As patient and still And as full of good will As fair Isaphill, Coliander, Sweet pomander, Good Cassander; Steadfast of thought, Well made, well wrought, Far may be sought, Ere that ye can find So courteous, so kind As merry Margaret, This midsummer flower, Gentle as falcon Or hawk of the tower.
Authorship:
- by John Skelton (1460 - 1529), "To Mistress Margaret Hussey"
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Isaphill = Hypsipylecoliander = coriander seed, an aromatic.
pomander = a ball of perfume
Cassander = Cassandra
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
4. Wanderer's night song  [sung text checked 1 time]
Over all the hilltops is peace. And through the darkened trees there blows Scarcely a breeze. The birds are silent in the branches. Wait awhile, Soon thou shalt rest too.
Authorship:
- by Herbert Norman Howells (1892 - 1983), written 1915
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), title 1: "Ein gleiches", title 2: "Wandrers Nachtlied", subtitle: "Ein gleiches", written 1780, first published 1815
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Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller5. On the Merry First of May  [sung text checked 1 time]
On the merry First of May Maidens wash their faces; Wash them in the dew they say, On the merry First of May Once a year at break of day So, at least, in places On the merry First of May Maidens wash their faces. On the merry First of May Maidens all, beware you, Man is full of guile, they say, On the merry First of May; Vain are all your arts today, He it is will snare you, On the merry First of May, Maidens all, beware you!
Authorship:
- by H. Burkitt Parker , "On the Merry First of May"
- by Claude Lindsay Clifford Aveling (1869 - 1943), "On the Merry First of May"
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Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller