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Down in the Willow Garden

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Irish Branches


The song and the story that became “Down in the Willow Garden” in America took a slightly different course within Ireland.  There, the original’s descendant became “Down by the Salley Garden,” which William Butler Yeats published as a poem in 1889, basing it off a fragment of a folk song lyric he had heard.



“Down by the Salley Gardens”

 

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 would 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.






Yeats’s poem is far less explicit about the nature of the exchange between the two lovers, and thereby more haunting, I think.  His economy with the narrative invites the reader to invest more imagination in filling in the gaps–a collaborative project that brings the reader into a greater degree of empathy (or complicity) with the protagonist, I think.


It’s pretty clear that the song Yeats heard was “You Rambling Boys of Pleasure.” (lyrics)

 

“You Rambling Boys of Pleasure,” by Andy Irvine
 
 
Yeats’s version grew to be its own song.  Most of the performances I’ve found on Spotify put this version in a slightly more formal musical setting–more of a “front parlor ballad” (or “parlour,” I suppose).  Definitely more polish, and less “high lonesome,” than its American cousin, “Down in the Willow Garden.”
 
 
This Transatlantic Sessions version with Maura O’Connell and Karen Matheson (embedding disabled) arranges the song with more traditional Celtic instrumentation (with the addition of Jerry Douglas on dobro, of course.)


“Down by the Salley Gardens,” by Robin Bullock (Spotify)  This instrumental version is extraordinarily lovely.
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

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  3. Making arrangements
  4. Sometimes it’s a hard world for the little things
Pages: 1 2 3

Comments

Down in the Willow Garden — 2 Comments

  1. It was this song and Frankie and Johnny that initiated me into this world of murder ballads, on David Grisman’s _Home Is Where the Heart Is_ way back when we were first getting to know each other in college Ken.

    This song struck me quite differently than “Frankie and Johnny.” Somehow F&J just sounded bawdy and violent in a way that didn’t surprise me. I think I knew music like that existed. “Down in the Willow Garden” though, now that was something new for me. At first I thought it was limited to bluegrass! I still think of it in an entirely different way, though I met both songs on the same album.

    Much more to say about this as they days move along… Awesome introduction! I love the willows.

    • I still vaguely remember skipping back on my old cd player, after hearing (what I thought must be incorrectly) “I drew my sabre through her…” I didn’t know what to do with it. I was not yet comfortable with my own way of thinking, and it seemed like somehow this had to be wrong.

      I remember one of my more doctrinaire friends simply writing it off as misogyny. Somehow I knew it wasn’t, though I wasn’t at all prepared to figure out just what it WAS! The lyrics spoke to the immorality of the act, and the confession was that of a young fool who’d followed his father’s bad advice. It all felt (feels) so real.

      I learned to play the song, to close my eyes and see the story unfold. I just went upstairs and played it again (first time in a year or two.) It’s like popping in a DVD. It’s all still right there when I close my eyes and sing. I could never have articulated this way back when, but there is something about this song that stirs compassion deeply, not just for the victim but the killer/singer too.

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