Origins: One Morning in May

Subject: Lyr Add: ONE MORNING IN MAY
From:
Date: 08 Mar 98 - 03:51 PM

Anyone recognise this? Its sung a bit in Ireland - but no one appears to have background on it.

Bruce?

ONE MORNING IN MAY

One morning in May as I carelessly did stray
Down by yon green garden where lambs sport and play
In the clear morning dew as I lay down to muse
A fair maiden of honour appeared in my view

I said pretty fair maid how happy we should be
For it is so decreed love that married we shall be
Let me not see you frown for my heart it is your own
When these words they were spoken, sure the tears trickled down

Come dry up your tears, there is nothing to fear
I will roam these green valleys now for many's a long year
When the birds sang so sweet, this young man proved his deceit
Saying adieu, lovely fair maid, we will never more meet

With my snuff box and cane, this whole world I will range
Like Venus or Diana in search of her swain
When the moon shines so clear, I will mourn for my dear
Over mountains, clear fountains, where no one can hear

There's one thing that I know, and that before I go
I will never return for to hear her sad woe
There's another thing I know and that before I go
That the ranger and the stranger have many's the foe.

Regards

Martin Ryan

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: One morning in May
From: Bruce O.
Date: 08 Mar 98 - 05:27 PM

This isn't really the same song, but it's awfully similar to "Green Bushes" (rather than green gardens), in for example, Kidson's 'Traditional Tunes', p. 47. The 1st verse of the two must stem from the same original. Kidson refers to a tune "Green Bushes" in Petrie's 'The Music of Ireland', 1882. (Petrie died in 1866, What's this, I've never heard of any 1882 edition of Irish tunes connected to Petrie. F. Hoffman's selection from Petrie's MSS, 1877? I never found a copy.) Kidson also refers to text and tune (Green Bushes) in (Baring Gould's) 'Songs of the West'.

Thanks for the song, Martin. I've still got a couple places to look, so I might be back later.

Subject: Lyr Add: ONE MORNING IN MAY
From: Tim O'K
Date: 09 Mar 98 - 04:35 PM

Here is the song I know with the same title. Similar story to The Nightingale, but different tune.

One morning, one morning, one morning in May,
I spied a young couple; they were making their way.
Well, one was a maiden, so bright and so fair,
And the other was a soldier and a brave volunteer.

"Good morning, good morning, good morning," said he.
"And where are you going my pretty lady?"
"Well, I'm going out a-walking on the banks of the sea,
Just to see the water's tide and hear the nightingale sing."

Well, they had not been standing for a minute or two,
When out of his knapsack a fiddle he drew,
And the tune that he played made the valleys all ring,
"Hark!" cried the maiden. "Hear the nightingale sing."

"Oh maiden, fair maiden, 'tis time to give on."
"Oh no, fine soldier, please play one tune more,
For I'd rather hear your fiddle with the touch of one string,
Than to see the water's tide and hear the nightingale sing.

"Oh soldier, fine soldier, will you marry me?"
"Oh no, fairest maiden, that never ever can be.
For I have a wife at home and children twice three.
Two wives and the army's too many for me."

"But I'll go back to London and stay for a year.
And it's often I'll think of you, my little dear.
And if ever I return, it'll be in the spring,
Just to see the water's tide and hear the nightingale sing."

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 29-Aug-02.

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: One morning in May
From: Bruce O.
Date: 09 Mar 98 - 07:01 PM

I think I posted the original version of the last above some time back. It's "The Nightingales Song, or Soldier's Rare Music ....". The similarity of the opening is what lead to this thread.

There's several other texts of "Green Bushes" in English collections and some verses apeared in a play by Buckstone in 1845, but whether the song originated there or was earlier was a matter of some dispute, and I haven't tracked down the 'latest' on it yet. Kidson, in 'Traditional Tunes' took the song to be earlier than the play. He says his verrsion is one remembered having been sung in 1843.

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: One morning in May
From: Bruce O.
Date: 09 Mar 98 - 11:13 PM

Corrections. Kidson informant remembered air sung in 1838. Kidson's text is from a broadside.

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: One morning in May
From: Bruce O.
Date: 12 Mar 98 - 02:51 PM

Petrie's work of 1882, about which I showed my ignorance above, is the second, very short, volume that supplemented Petrie's 'Ancient Music of Ireland', 1855. In reprint editions it's bound in at the end of the latter.

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: One morning in May
From: Bruce O.
Date: 12 Mar 98 - 10:58 PM

Martin, any way yo can do an ABC of the tune? Or other approximation of it? I have several variants of the tune for "Green Bushes", including at least 3 Irish ones (without songs, unfortunately).

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: One morning in May
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 13 Mar 98 - 03:48 AM

Bruce:

I doubt it - but I'll see what I can do!

Regards

---

Threads combined. Messages below are from a new thread.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Req: One Morning in May
From: AnCailínÉireannach
Date: 25 Apr 08 - 08:42 AM

I know there are many tradional songs out there with the title "One morning in May" but the version I am looking for starts

One morning in May as I carelessly did stray.....


last 2 lines of the last verse are
"There's another thing I know and that before I go,
Is the ranger and the stranger has manys the foe"

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: One Morning in May
From: GUEST,mrsmac
Date: 25 Apr 08 - 09:23 AM

i think that the song you are looking for is one sung by Len Graham and was recorded by Eithne Ni Uallachain

the 1st verse is;

One morning in May as i carelessly did stray
to view the green meadows and the lambs sport and play
In the clear morning dew as i lay down to muse
A fair maiden of honour appeared in my view

am i right?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: One Morning in May
From: GUEST,mrsmac
Date: 25 Apr 08 - 09:46 AM

ok have just found the recording and transcribed it as best i can hope this helps!

One Morning in May

One morning in May as I carelessly did stray
to view the green meadows and the lambs sport and play
In the clear morning dew as I lay down to muse
A fair maiden of honour appeared in my view

Says I pretty maid how happy we could be
For it is so ordained love that married we should be
Let me not see you frown for this heart is your own
When these words they were spoken sure the tears trickled down

Come dry up your tears there is nothing to fear
I will roam through the green fields for many's the long year
While the birds sang so sweet this young man proved his deceit
Saying adieu pretty fair maid we shall never more meet

With my snuff box and cane the whole world I would range
Like Venus or Diana in search of her swain
While the moon does shine clear I will mourn for my dear
Over mountains clear fountains where no-one would hear

There's one thing I know and that before I go
I will never return for to hear your sad woe
And there's another thing I know and that before I go
That the ranger and the stranger have many's the foe

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: One Morning in May
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 26 Apr 08 - 03:01 AM

I don't know the song but I know of it and have heard Len and others sing it enough times.
Len included it on the Topic album 'Wind and Water' and described it:
"This is yet another song I learned from the late John McGrath. There is a modest seduction scene - modest as with most Irish songs, the seduction isn't too explicit. In this case 'When the birds sang sweet, this young man proved his deceit'".

I have always been struck by the song's resemblance to an 'aisling' or 'vision poem' in which the young woman turns out to be 'Ireland' lamenting her troubles at the hands of the invading 'strangers'.
Maybe Martin Ryan knows - if he's out there....
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: One Morning in May
From: MartinRyan
Date: 26 Apr 08 - 03:57 AM

I think I'm no wiser about the song's origins now than when this thread started! I'll start another think about it!

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: One morning in May
From: MartinRyan
Date: 26 Apr 08 - 03:59 AM

Refreshing to take up the thread again. I never did get the tune to (the late) Bruce O., I'm afraid.

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: One Morning in May
From: MartinRyan
Date: 26 Apr 08 - 04:20 AM

Jim

The root of all these, I suppose, is the "pastourelle" of Provencal troubadours. The "aisling" is, as you describe it, a politicised pastourelle. In some cases, in my view, the interpretation is often rather artificially made long after the song was written. So an aisling is a post-hoc, politicised pastourelle. Let's just call them PPP's for short!

On the song of interest: as the earlier thread shows, I made little progress on tracing it 10 years ago. I'll try again.

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: One Morning in May
From: AnCailínÉireannach
Date: 26 Apr 08 - 12:06 PM

Thanks so much to you all. That is fantastic

Marie

Subject: RE: Origins: One Morning in May
From: MartinRyan
Date: 28 Apr 08 - 05:22 AM

Now that this song has reappeared, let's see if we can pin down its origins and connections.

Regards

Subject: RE: Origins: One Morning in May
From: MartinRyan
Date: 05 May 08 - 05:07 AM

Spoke to John Moulden about this one, yesterday. He knows only of the Len Graham/John McGrath connection mentioned by Jim Carroll earlier. He (John Moulden) has never seen it in print - nor anything that resembled it much. And yet - it doesn't really feel like a stray collection of "floaters", does it?

I'll try to follow up the late Bruce O.'s comments re "Green Bushes".

Regards

Subject: RE: Origins: One Morning in May
From: GUEST,Adam Lang
Date: 23 Aug 11 - 06:57 PM

Talked to Len Graham about this song a month or two ago. He has only ever heard of it via John McGrath, and is still actively looking for anyone else who has heard it independently, or found it in print. He perked his ears right up when I sang it with a different word than he did, and asked me about it afterwards, but that was just me goofing. ('For to view the salt meadows...' ...there aren't any salt meadows in Ireland, are there?)

As for not feeling like a stray collection of floaters... *some* of it feels really cohesive, but then there's the bit about ranging the world with your snuffbox and cane. Who is doing that? The anti-hero? The girl? And if it's the former, why would he be ranging the world 'like Venus or Diana in search of her swain'? And if it's the latter... well, women were certainly known to take snuff, but a cane? An affectation of a gentleman, unless we are to believe that she's got a gimpy leg. That entire verse is totally bewildering.