Song Lyric Sunday: His Grave It Was Green

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I thought at first that Jim seemed to be in gruesome mode this week, as his Song Lyric Sunday invitation is to play a song that mentions death, kill or murder. Keeping it cheerful in the season of goodwill! But his post tells more: tomorrow is the 45th anniversary of John Lennon’s murder, so the theme is in tribute to him. As I have mentioned – and demonstrated – on many occasions I love folk music and the traditions it represents, so this seemed an obvious place for me to look for this theme. I recalled three that I especially like, and in my usual indecisive manner have chosen to play them all for you. The first two are about the impact of death on those loved ones who are left behind, while the third is the more gruesome one – just the two murders!

I’m leading with a song that showcases one of the most beautiful voices ever to come out of these shores, and for once that isn’t Sandy Denny! Treat your ears to the incredible Jacqui McShee:

The lyrics were on the video, but in case you missed any of them as they told their sad tale here they are in full:

 

The trees they grow high, the leaves they do grow green 
Many is the time my true love I’ve seen 
Many an hour I have watched him all alone 
He’s young, but he’s daily growing 

Father, dear father, you’ve done me great wrong 
You have married me to a boy who is too young 
I’m twice twelve and he is but fourteen 
He’s young, but he’s daily growing

Daughter, dear daughter, I’ve done you no wrong 
I have married you to a great lord’s son 
He’ll be a man to you when I am dead and gone 
He’s young, but he’s daily growing 

Father, dear father, if you see fit 
We’ll send him to college for another year yet 
I’ll tie blue ribbons all around his head 
To let the maidens know that he’s married 

One day I was looking o’er my father’s castle wall 
I spied all the boys a-playing at the ball 
My own true love was the flower of them all 
He’s young, but he’s daily growing 

At the age of fourteen, he was a married man 
At the age of fifteen, the father of a son 
At the age of sixteen, his grave it was green 
Cruel death had put an end to his growing 

I’ll buy my love some flannel and I will make a shroud
With every stitch I put in it, the tears they will pour down 
With every stitch I put in it, how the tears will flow 
Cruel fate has put an end to his growing

 

No credits, as the song is traditional and has been handed down through the centuries. These verses are an approximation of the version sung here by Pentangle, although you will also find variations in other recordings.

As you may have seen right at the beginning of the video, Pentangle recorded The Trees They Do Grow High for their second album, Sweet Child, which was released in November 1968. It was a double album, with one disc that had been recorded the previous June at the Royal Festival Hall in London and a set of studio recordings, of which this song was one. The timing of the release was perfect for me, as it meant that I could ask for it as a Christmas present, and Mum and Dad duly obliged. We played it on Boxing Day, in full, and it was a big hit with them too. Even my sister seemed to like it, which was unusual for her!

The songs are the most wide-ranging of Pentangle’s albums, including folk songs, jazz classics, blues, early music and some of their own compositions. The album cover was designed by Peter Blake, better-known for his design of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It didn’t make the charts, though critics have rated it the band’s best album, and for once I agree with them. It is a fabulous collection of 22 songs, and the title track in particular is incredibly good.

I finally managed to fulfil a bucket list wish and saw them play live in August 2011, at the very same location as on this album, the Royal Festival Hall. This was part of a reunion/farewell tour of the five original band members – Jacqui McShee, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox – and it was a wonderful evening. There were a couple of times when I thought that Bert didn’t look well and sadly I was right – he passed away just two months later after a long battle with lung cancer. It was very poignant for me that the first time I got to see them was his final public performance. Following the recent passing of Danny Thompson, the bass player, only two of this lineup are still with us – vocalist Jacqui, who is 81, and drummer Terry, who is 88.

 

 

My second song for today also features someone who is no longer with us. This is a track by Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, founder members of Steeleye Span, who also recorded three albums as a duo. This is a track from the third of them, Summer Solstice, released in 1971:

Dancing At Whitsun was written by Austin John Marshall and The Copper Family. Marshall was an English record producer, songwriter, poet and graphic designer, most notable for his work in developing folk music in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s. The Copper Family are a family of singers of traditional, unaccompanied English folk song from Rottingdean, near Brighton. The family first came to the attention of folklorists in the late nineteenth century and received wider attention during the folk revival of the 1960s. This is a beautiful little song about the tributes paid by the widows of those who have lost their lives in battle, and paints a lovely picture of them dancing with their memories. I bought the album at the time and played it to bits – it is still a favourite of mine. Maddy is still going strong but sadly Tim passed away on Christmas Eve 2009, another lung cancer victim.

 

 

I promised you some gore, didn’t I, and this is it. I’ve just played something by two Steeleye Span members, and here are the other mainstays of the English folk rock scene that developed in the late 1960s, with an epic which is still a big part of their live shows to this day:

That was Fairport Convention, with Matty Groves, a track from their seminal album Liege & Lief, released in December 1969 – their third record of that year. This is widely regarded as the album which started the folk rock genre here, and has been voted the best folk album of all time in a poll by the BBC. The song is another traditional one: Matty Groves, also known as Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard or Little Musgrave, is a ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a young man and a noblewoman that is ended when the woman’s husband discovers and kills them. It is listed as Child Ballad #81 and #52 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It dates back to at least 1613, and under the title Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard is one of the Child Ballads collected by 19th-century American scholar Francis James Child. For the record, Liege & Lief peaked at #17 in the UK Albums Chart, and has gone Gold for more than 100k sales.

Somehow I have managed to combine all three of my early folk music influences into one post, with three of my favourite singers (though Maddy was only heard in the background) and I hope you’ve enjoyed them. Given the theme for today I hope you aren’t too depressed – two beautiful songs of memories and a cracker of a revenge tale have, I think, prevented that! Thanks as always to Jim for running the show and providing an appropriate prompt for a sad anniversary, though I’m happy to say that next week will see us on more positive ground!

See you again for Tuesday Tunes aka Advent Countdown, I trust 😊

37 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday: His Grave It Was Green”

    • It is beautifully sung, isn’t it. The lyrical variations are common with traditional songs, as versions are handed down through the centuries and get changed along the way.

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  2. The mention of Bert Jansch took me back. I did have a Steeleye Span record, ‘All Around My Hat’. Of them all, Fairport Convention was my favourite Folk group. I had a copy of ‘Meet On The Ledge’ when I was 16, and still think it is a marvellous song. I might feature that one on my blog one day.

    Best wishes, Pete.

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    • Those were good times for music, especially for someone like me being introduced to English folk rock. Good to know that you had at least two records of the genre! ‘Meet On The Ledge’ is a remarkable song, even more so when you consider that Richard Thompson was only 17 when he wrote it. It makes a wonderful ensemble ending to a Fairport gig, which I have experienced many times.

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  4. I liked all of these, all new to me. That first one though, did I miss something? How did the boy die? Interesting story for sure. And I listened to the third one a couple of times, it was so good. Such a twist at the end. Wasn’t expecting that 🙂

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    • I thought these would be new to most, and I’m glad you liked them.

      You didn’t miss anything – the song doesn’t say. It goes back hundreds of years when lifespans were much shorter, and many died young from various illnesses.

      Matty Groves and the other variants have a good ending, don’t they!

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    • You may know Steeleye Span, of which Tim and Maddy were founder members. They played as a duo before the band and this became a side project for them.

      Thank you for your kind words, and it’s good to know the conversion is going well 🤣

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  9. Wonderful songs, Clive. Few here in the states (even those of my generation) know much about these great artists, which is a shame. Re John Lennon, I prefer to remember his life and music year-round, rather than with “death, kill or murder” songs on the day he tragically died, indirectly through America’s horrific gun culture. Yes, a bit gruesome (though I know you and your friend mean well). I think Lennon would be more appreciative that my son named my first grandson after him just 2 weeks ago! Anyway…”all we are saying is give peace a chance,” and as Ringo still reminds us in his own way, “peace and love”!

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    • I guess English folk music doesn’t travel well over there. It’s a bit of a niche market here too, but it is well-supported. Lennon’s legacy is his music, but it’s nice to know his name lives on with your grandson.

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  11. I live a quarter mile from both The Dakota, where Lennon was murdered, and Strawberry Fields, the slice of Central Park designed as a tribute across the street. There is a massive “IMAGINE” mosaic in the ground and always at least two different people singing songs ( not always Beatle songs written by John)….

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  14. I am the target audience for these song choices, Clive as I am an avid reader of both historical fiction and non-fiction. You caught me just coming off a deep dive into the Tudor Dynasty- so this fits perfectly with my current mindset.

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  15. Well Clive another brilliant post … I truly love the song Matty Groves…not because it gory but it just such a great story.

    I love all of choices this week definitely my scene until I met hubby.

    funnily enough I was going to go down the folk road with

    Stretched on your Grave by Sinnadé O’Connor

    Kevin Barry by Wolfe Tones

    Crows last supper Dark Country Outlaws.

    But I guessed you’d go that way …

    hopevyou are well 💜💜

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