‘Down by the salley gardens’ originally is a poem by William Butler Yeats ( 葉慈)published in The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems 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 Ballisodare, Sligo, who often sings them to herself."
Yeats's original title, "An Old Song Re-Sung", reflected this; it first appeared under its present title when it was reprinted in Poems in 1895.The verse was subsequently set to music by Herbert Hughes to the air The Maids of the Mourne Shore in 1909."
First time listening this song, I was attracted by its unique Irish- style music and the simple lyrics.
"Salley" is an anglicisation of the Irish saileach, meaning willow.
Following is the original poem:
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 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.
This vido is got from youtube. I am not so keen for this video pictures but the singer,藤田惠美,perfomed this song very well. This song is from her album 'Camomile extra', one of the Camomile Series, with very high quality.
初聽這首歌並不知是Yeats 的.那簡簡單單的句子,讓人回味無窮.
When You Are Old 是他最為人知的.
這首我也很喜愛:
The coming wisdom of Time
Though leaves are many, the root is one;
Through all the lying days of my youth
I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun;
Now I may wither into the truth.
,翻譯者沈睿
雖然枝條很多,根卻隻有一條;
穿過我青春的所有說謊的日子
我在陽光下抖掉我的枝葉和花朵;
現在我可以枯萎而進入真理。
When You Are Old by Yeats is one of my favorite poems.
藤田惠美的碟很不錯。據介紹,Emi Fujita - camomile Best Audio (SACD) 是張極品音質的5.1ch SACD精選.