Greensleeves
The English tune of the 1500s in its own old words, "Alas, my love, you do me wrong", for 2 to 4 singers: the first verse and the refrain, "Greensleeves was all my joy". The soprano sings the tune; the alto, tenor and bass sing the words beneath it on the harmony G. A. Macfarren wrote for it in the 1850s, the tenor moving mostly by step. Gentle and lilting, in a slow 6/8.
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The first verse
Words: traditional (English, 16th century), as printed in William Chappell, Popular Music of the Olden Time (1855 to 1859)Tune: traditional (English, 16th century)
Alas! my love, you do me wrong, To cast me off discourteously,And I have loved you so long, Delighting in your company.
About Greensleeves
Greensleeves is an English tune of the 1500s, sung here in its own old words, "Alas, my love, you do me wrong". Shakespeare names it twice in The Merry Wives of Windsor, where Falstaff cries, "Let the sky rain potatoes, let it thunder to the tune of Greensleeves." People were singing Christmas-season words to it by the 1600s; the best known today, "What Child Is This?", are by William Chatterton Dix, in print by 1867. Our arrangement is read from William Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time of the 1850s, on the harmony G. A. Macfarren wrote for it, a whole tone higher. This is the first verse and the refrain for 2 to 4 singers, gentle and lilting.
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