Lyr Add: All in a Garden Green (R Dyer-Bennett)

Subject: Lyr Add: ALL IN A GARDEN GREEN^^
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 13 Jul 00 - 08:43 PM

ALL IN A GARDEN GREEN

All in a garden green
Two lovers sat at ease
Withdrawn where they could scarce be seen
Among the leafy trees
They long had loved y-fair
And no longer than true-ly
In that time of the year
In that time of the year
Comes twixt May and July.

Quoth he, "Oh, lovely maid,
My troth will aye endure.
So be yet ye-e-e not afraid
But rest thee still secure
That I will love thee long
As life in me shall last
Now I am young and strong
Now I am young and strong
And when my youth is past.

From singing of Richard Dyer-Bennett, in the 50s.
DRO^^

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 13 Jul 00 - 09:04 PM

There's more to the songl; see Wm. Chappell's PMOT, I, p. 110-11. I've seen the original of it in Folger Shakespeare Library MS V.a. 339. It's one of John Payne Collier's forgeries. Collier gave it (and several others) from his 'old' manuscript to Chappell, who put it in PMOT. (See Collier file on my website). The original "All in a garden green", unkown to Collier, is ZN70 in the broadside ballad index on my website. www.erols.com/olsonw

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 01 Aug 00 - 09:11 AM

G'day,
Thanks to Ivan the tune for "All In A Garden Green" can be found here at the Mudcat MIDI site.

Ivan says: This was prepared by transcribing from a .wav of Dave Oesterreich's singing the first verse. I've also sent Joe Offer the NoteWorthy file for it. Don't know much about it, but I found the tune in an abc of the 1651 Playford Book, so I guess it's pretty well traditional.

Cheers,
Alan

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From:
Date: 07 Aug 02 - 04:58 AM

Anyone who can help me how to sing the lyrics to the midi. I get lost at In that time of the year, In that time of the year.

Subject: Lyr Add: ALL IN A GARDEN GREEN
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 10 Aug 02 - 04:46 PM

There does seem to be something a little odd about it. This may perhaps be due to changes made by Dyer-Bennett; I'm none too sure. Since changes have been made, though, and since the original song is considerably longer, I'll quote the whole thing as Chappell published it. You'll notice a slightly different repeat pattern from the text given above:

ALL IN A GARDEN GREEN

All in a garden green
Two lovers sat at ease,
As they could scarce be seen among,
Among the leafy trees.
They long had loved y-fere,
And no longer than truly,
In that time of the year,
In that time of the year
Cometh 'twixt May and July.

Subsequent verses follow the same pattern.

Quoth he, "Most lovely maid,
My troth shall aye endure;
And be not thou afraid,
But rest thee still secure,
That I will love thee long
As life in me shall last;
Now I am strong and young,
And when my youth is past.

When I am gray and old,
And then must stoop to age,
I'll love thee twenty-fold,
My troth I here engage."
She heard with joy the youth,
When he thus far had gone;
She trusted in his truth,
And, loving, he went on:

"Yonder thou seest the sun
Shine in the sky so bright,
And when this day is done,
And cometh the dark night,
No sooner night is not,
But he returns alway,
And shines as bright and hot
As on this gladsome day.

He is no older now
Than when he first was born;
Age cannot make him bow,
He laughs old Time to scorn.
My love shall be the same,
It never shall decay,
But shine without all blame,
Though body turn to clay."

She listed to his song,
And heard it with a smile,
And, innocent as young,
She dreamèd not of guile.
No guile he meant, I ween,
For he was true as steel,
As was thereafter seen
When she made him her weal.

Full soon both two were wed,
And these most faithful lovers
May serve at board at bed,
Example to all others.

As given in William Chappell's Ballad Literature and Popular Music of the Olden Time, 1859. Chappell glosses y-fere as together. The text, as Bruce pointed out back when this thread was young, is by John Payne Collier; the music quoted by Chappell was from William Ballet's Lute Book, and also appears in the Dancing Master of 1651 and later editions. This, too, differs in some respects from the transcription already at the Midi Pages, so I'll add a midi of it:

All in a Garden Green (midi).

Lyrics are embedded in the midi file. In case you aren't able to read those, I'll try to indicate scansion for the first verse. Dashes after words indicate additional notes to be sung; so that year,- - for example, is to be slurred over three notes.

All in a gar-den green
Two lov-ers sat at ease,
As they could scarce- be seen a-mong,-
A-mong the leaf- -y trees.
They- long had loved y-fere,
And no long-er than tru-ly,
In- that- time of the year,- -
In- that- time of the year
Com-eth 'twixt May and Ju-ly.

In the last line, Chappell appears to indicate two syllables for and and one for July; it sings more comfortably the other way about, of course.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 10 Aug 02 - 08:58 PM

In that ti-i-ime of the ye-e-ear, with the rising series of notes on "time and year". If I understood your problem, that should take care of it.

I have to say that (no surprise here) I prefer the text I posted, so far as it overlaps what's given last above. Specifically I'm thinking of the line I give as "Withdrawn where they could scarce be seen" as opposed to "As they could scarce be seen among", for two reasons:

One, "As they could scarce be seen among" doesn't make much sense, to me at least. Two, "As they could scarce be seen among" forces a repetition of "among", which further, to my ear and mind, is nonsensical.

The scansion problem with the line, Com-eth 'twixt May and Ju-ly" referred to is caused by "cometh" throwing the rhythm of the line off. I understand that line to be Comes twixt May and Ju-ly, thus not crowding "May and July".

It's a really lovely, elegant tune, and well worth learning the song.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 10 Aug 02 - 09:28 PM

As you say; nevertheless, the original song is, so far as I know, as Chappell printed it, including the repetition of "among", which is a standard thing for the period, though perhaps a little unfamiliar to modern ears. Doubtless Dyer-Bennett made what he felt were improvements.

Subject: Lyr Add: ALL IN A GARDEN GREEN (Natalia Macfarren)
From: masato sakurai
Date: 10 Aug 02 - 09:42 PM

How to sing the last line is differently shown in (1) Chappell, Popular Music of the Olden Time; (2) Chappell, Old English Popular Music, rev. by H. Ellis Wooldrige ([1893]; reprinted Jack Brussel, 1961, pp. 79-80); (3) Tom Kines, Songs from Shakespeare' Plays (Oak, 1964, p. 74). Of course, it is impossible to sing like (1). The score given in Claude M. Simpson, The British Broadside Ballad and Its Music (p. 10; from Ballet's MS Lute Book, p. 56) has two minims (half notes) for the last bar.

(1) [In that time of the year,] [of the year Com-] [eth 'twixt May(2 quavers) and] [July(1 semibreve)]
(2) [In that time of the year,] [of the year com'th] ['twixt May and(2 quavers) Ju-] [ly]
(3) [In that time of the year,] [of the year com-] [eth 'twixt May(2 quavers) and] [Ju-ly]

There's another set of new words in J. Oxenford, Old English Ditties (Selected from W. Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time), vol. II (Chappell & Co., [1884?], pp. 84-85; with piano score):

ALL IN A GARDEN GREEN
(Verses to the old title by Natalia Macfarren)

All in a garden green
I wander'd forth at ease,
The sun shot down with golden sheen,
Athwart the leafy trees;
There I spied two blooming maids,
I withdrew in deepest shades.
"Ah," said one, "my peace is gone, last night
I saw the only one that ever I shall love."

"He cast no look on me,
Nor notic'd I was there;
I heard him say he'd ne'er bow knee,
But woman's wiles forswear."
Then she turn'd with tearful eyne;
"Well I knew those words were mine;
Wiles I scorn, but may I mourn
if guileless heart by grief be torn
When I can make it glad.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 10 Aug 02 - 10:00 PM

Good point about the notation in Simpson, which I should have compared with Chappell PMOT (unfortunately I don't have his earlier work). The only real difficulty in phrasing (from my point of view) lies in the last line, where two minims certainly makes better sense on the face of it; though it actually sounds quite uncomfortable in practice. I'm thinking, though, that Dyer-Bennett's source is likely to have been Chappell, so I'll stick by my earlier comments for the time being.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: masato sakurai
Date: 16 Aug 02 - 11:15 PM

Score from Simpson is HERE (The Music of the Sixteenth Century Broadside Ballad).

~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Aug 02 - 01:46 AM

The tune at that click-on is just a printout from my ABC at www.erols.com/olsonw. Greg Lindahl (webmaster for the SCA Minstrel website) did that for all the 16th century ballad tunes on my website.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Aug 02 - 02:03 AM

Here's a bit of the original. Only 4 verses to it, but that's still a lot of lines

A merry new ballad, of a countrye wench and a clowne.

To a fine tune

All in a garden greene,
where late I layde me downe
Vppon a banke of camemeyle,
where I sawe vpon a style,
sitting, a countrey Clowne,
howldinge within his armes
a comelye countrey mayde:
courting her with all his skyll,
working her vnto his will,
Thus to her he sayd:-
'Kisse me in kindness,
'sweet hart' quoth he.
'Syr, not for twenty
'good pounds,' quoth she.
He sayd 'Saye no soe.'
She sayd 'Let me goe.'
'Staye, sweet hart,' quoth he.
'Fye! how you ruffle me.'
'What a lyfe is this:-
'Lord, how I love thee,
'sweet hart,' quoth she.
---lost---
---lost---
'Fye for shame, I saye:
'take your hand awaye.'
'Sweet,' quoth he, 'be styll;
'Though against thy will,
'I must haue a Kysse.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: All In A Garden Green
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Aug 02 - 01:28 AM

All of the original (a seduction ballad) can now be seen in the Scarce Songs 2 file at www.erols.com/olsonw