The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #13144   Message #2969477
Posted By: Taconicus
20-Aug-10 - 12:48 PM
Thread Name: Origin: Sally Gardens / Salley Gardens
Subject: RE: Origin: Sally Gardens
Rose Connelly (Down in the Willow Garden) seems to be an American variation/offshoot of the Irish Down in the Salley Gardens, though with a very different (and gory) story line. The tunes are similar as well. Here's a 1963 recording of Rose Connelly from Mountain Home, Arkansas which uses the burgaloo wine (Virginia pear wine) lyric.

BTW, a Scots dictionary also shows Sally or salley as meaning (or a pronunciation of) sallow (from the Middle English salwe), meaning the sallow tree, a type of willow tree.