Down by the Sally Garden

Down By The Sally Gardens

Down By The Salley Gardens was a poem by William Butler Yeats 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.

By the way, “Salley” is an anglicization of the Irish “saileach”, meaning willow. Willows are known as “salleys”, “sallies” or “salley trees” in parts of Ireland.

So, whether you call it “The Maids of the Mourne Shore” or “Down By The Sally Gardens”, this is a pretty tune. I haven’t introduced any new concepts; no new skills; no new frills or furbelows. Make it expressive and beautiful. THINK ABOUT DYNAMICS! Play it softly and loudly. Experiment with the tempo. What happens when you slow it down? Try to play VERY smoothly. Make the tune your own. And have fun!

Here are Yeats’ lyrics:

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.