by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)

Down by the Salley Gardens my love and I...
Language: English 
Our translations:  CAT DUT FRE FRI FRI GER
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 did 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.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   B. Britten •   R. Clarke •   J. Edmunds •   G. Finzi •   I. Gurney •   J. Ireland 

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Retitled "Down by the Salley Gardens" with the subtitle "An old song re-sung" when republished in Poems in 1895.

Note: "salley" is an anglicized form of the Irish word "saileach", which means willow.


Text Authorship:

Go to the general view


Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 94