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'''''Down By The Salley Gardens''''' (''[[Irish language|Irish]]: Gort na Saileán'') is a well-known poem by [[William Butler Yeats]] included in his book, [[The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems]], published in [[1889]]. Yeats indicated in a note that it was "an attempt to reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant woman in the village of Ballysodare, [[County Sligo| Sligo]], who often sings them to herself."<ref>Quoted in M.H Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt eds., ''The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2''. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. p. 2024.</ref> Yeats's original title, "An Old Song Re-Sung", reflected this; it first appeared under its present title when it was reprinted in ''Poems'' (London: T. Fisher Unwin) in [[1895]].<ref>Ford, Robert, ''W.B.Yeats: A Life'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 69</ref> The verse was subsequently set to music by [[Herbert Hughes (musicologist)|Herbert Hughes]] to the [[air (music)|air]] ''The Maids of the Mourne Shore'' in 1909. In the 1920s, composer Rebecca Clarke set the text to music.<ref>Jezic, D. P. (1988). Women composers: The lost tradition found (2nd ed., pp. 157-162). New York: The Feminist Press. </ref> There is also a vocal setting by the poet and composer [[Ivor Gurney]], which was published in 1938.
'''''Down By The Salley Gardens''''' (''[[Irish language|Irish]]: Gort na Saileán'') is a well-known poem by [[William Butler Yeats]] included in his book, [[The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems]], published in [[1889]]. Yeats indicated in a note that it was "an attempt to reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant woman in the village of Ballysodare, [[County Sligo| Sligo]], who often sings them to herself."<ref>Quoted in M.H Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt eds., ''The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2''. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. p. 2024.</ref> Yeats's original title, "An Old Song Re-Sung", reflected this; it first appeared under its present title when it was reprinted in ''Poems'' (London: T. Fisher Unwin) in [[1895]].<ref>Ford, Robert, ''W.B.Yeats: A Life'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 69</ref> The verse was subsequently set to music by [[Herbert Hughes (musicologist)|Herbert Hughes]] to the [[air (music)|air]] ''The Maids of the Mourne Shore'' in 1909. In the 1920s composer [[Rebecca Clarke]] set the text to music.<ref>Jezic, D. P. (1988). Women composers: The lost tradition found (2nd ed., pp. 157-162). New York: The Feminist Press. </ref> There is also a vocal setting by the poet and composer [[Ivor Gurney]], which was published in 1938.


"Salley" is an anglicisation of the Irish ''saileach'', meaning ''[[willow]]'', i.e., a tree of the genus ''Salix''. Willows are known as "salleys", "sallies" or "salley trees" in parts of Ireland.[http://www.hiberno-english.com/body.php?id=1484]
"Salley" is an anglicisation of the Irish ''saileach'', meaning ''[[willow]]'', i.e., a tree of the genus ''Salix''. Willows are known as "salleys", "sallies" or "salley trees" in parts of Ireland.[http://www.hiberno-english.com/body.php?id=1484]

Revision as of 15:59, 2 February 2009

Down By The Salley Gardens (Irish: Gort na Saileán) is a well-known poem by William Butler Yeats included in his book, The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems, published in 1889. Yeats indicated in a note that it was "an attempt to reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant woman in the village of Ballysodare, Sligo, who often sings them to herself."[1] Yeats's original title, "An Old Song Re-Sung", reflected this; it first appeared under its present title when it was reprinted in Poems (London: T. Fisher Unwin) in 1895.[2] The verse was subsequently set to music by Herbert Hughes to the air The Maids of the Mourne Shore in 1909. In the 1920s composer Rebecca Clarke set the text to music.[3] There is also a vocal setting by the poet and composer Ivor Gurney, which was published in 1938.

"Salley" is an anglicisation of the Irish saileach, meaning willow, i.e., a tree of the genus Salix. Willows are known as "salleys", "sallies" or "salley trees" in parts of Ireland.[1]

Poem

Down by the sally gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the sally 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.

Recordings

The song has been part of the repertoire of many singers and groups. Notable recordings include: 

 Kathleen Ferrier also recorded this

Notes

  1. ^ Quoted in M.H Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt eds., The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. p. 2024.
  2. ^ Ford, Robert, W.B.Yeats: A Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 69
  3. ^ Jezic, D. P. (1988). Women composers: The lost tradition found (2nd ed., pp. 157-162). New York: The Feminist Press.

Media

Sally gardens
Performed by Dancing Willow
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Image:Dancing Willow - Demo-CD 2007 04 - Sally gardens.ogg|Sally gardens (Ogg-Vorbis)

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