As the holiday season fills the air with carols, you may find yourself humming What Child is This? But before 1865 when William Dix substituted Christmas lyrics, this haunting melody told a very different story – one of love, betrayal and heartbreak centered around a pair of Elizabethan mysteries: Who was the enigmatic “Lady Greensleeves”? And who composed the unforgettable song about her?
As the music and original lyrics twine around each other and embrace like ivy tendrils or lovers, did you ever consider that they might reveal an Elizabethan drama about a real-life love affair? Let’s unfurl some clues about this doomed romance.
Did Henry VIII Write Greensleeves? (Spoiler: No)
One enduring myth about Greensleeves is that King Henry VIII wrote it for Anne Boleyn during their infamous 1526-1532 courtship. This story doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
Like much of 16th century English music, Greensleeves has Italian roots. Renaissance music scholars note that it imitates a motet, an Italian composition style which did not reach England until well after Henry’s 1547 death. Greensleeves also reflects the renaissance Spanish and Italian romanesca, again unknown in England during Henry’s time. In fact, Greensleeves predates Nicholas Yong’s famous 1588 Musica transalpine which introduced Italian madrigals to England.
Dating Greensleeves in the Canon of Elizabethan Music
We know that Greensleeves was written before September 1580, when a broadside ballad was registered with the London Stationer’s Company (founded in 1577) as “A Newe Northern Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves”. But Greensleeves style did not come from the north; it came from the south, from Italy. The “Newe Northern Dittye” was merely cashing in on the song’s existing popularity.
Greensleeves’s anonymous and skilled composer was influenced by Italian musical trends that made their way to England in the third quarter of the 16th century, suggesting that the song was written about the same time: 1570-1580. The mystery composer may have traveled personally in Italy, returning home with new composition styles that became an overnight sensation a decade before Yong’s madrigals.
Clues in Greensleeves’ Lyrics: Unmasking the Lovers
Greensleeves’ lyrics are more than a poetic lament; they’re a confession. Sophisticated and precise, they reveal a wordsmith who could imbue every word with pain and significance.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Greensleeves’ Lyrics part 1
Beginning of Text
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.
Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.
Your vows you've broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.
chorus
I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.
chorus
If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.
chorus
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Relationship
The lovers were deeply connected for a long time, and he trusted her as his “heart of gold’. But her suddenly and “discourteously” ending their relationship sent him into “a world apart” from her, while his heart remained her captive.
“Thy music still to play and sing” explains that he and the lady, herself a skilled musician, spent hours playing and composing together. By reminding her, in music composed specifically for her, of their joyful music-making cut short by her change of heart, he intends to both wound her and woo her back. As we will see, the song’s wild popularity allowed him to accomplish that. It must have been floating on the air throughout Elizabethan England.
Proximity of the Lovers
This was no long distance romance. He was ready, near at hand “to grant whatever [she] would crave”, attentively responding to her whims and fancies like a courtier to a queen, or an expectant father to his pregnant lover.
Broken Vows and Heartbreak
In a love affair, “Your vows you’ve broken, like my heart” means a broken betrothal vow, no small matter in Elizabethan England. Betrothal vows were negotiated contracts, typically involving the exchange of property and a woman’s male relatives or guardian. The lady’s ending the relationship on her own terms suggests that she wielded unusual power and independence.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Greensleeves’ Lyrics part 2
Remainder of text
My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
chorus
Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
but still thou hadst it readily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
chorus
Well, I will pray to God on high,
that thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.
chorus
Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still thy lover true,
Come once again and love me.
chorus
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Social Status of the Composer
The composer wagered both his life and his lands for the lady. While unspecified, military or diplomatic service abroad in dangerous circumstances comes to mind. Either would require him to have personally paid to equip and transport himself and his followers, possibly borrowing against his lands to raise the cash. Could the lady have commanded him abroad in her “service”?
His providing green livery, or uniforms, typically used by the great Elizabethan nobles to designate their servants, gives away this key to his secret identity: his social status was very high and he was wealthy. “My men were clothed all in green, And they did ever wait on thee.” That his servants “ever” waited on the lady divulges that he entertained her often, presumably at the estates that he wagered for her benefit.
Social Status of the Lady
The lady could “desire no earthly thing”. Whatever she wanted, she already had it. What woman has everything she wants on earth? A very wealthy noblewoman? A queen?
He asks her to “vouchsafe” to love him, just once before he dies. “Vouchsafe” means “to give or grant in a gracious or condescending manner”, letting slip that the lady’s social status is equal to or above the composer’s; she is a high noblewoman, or possibly, royalty.
What’s With Those Greene Sleeves in Tudor England?
In Tudor England, sleeves were detachable. The wealthy owned multiple pairs, combining them with different gowns or doublets by lacing them to the garment.
Thanks to their Norman ancestors, Elizabethan nobility spoke French and English heraldry used French terms. The heraldic term for “green” was the French word “vert”. “Vert”, symbolizing loyalty, the planet Venus and the virtue of Love, is pronounced “ver” in French without the final “t” sound, rhyming with “fair” (and “Vere”).
The lady’s choice of green sleeves, the same color as the composer’s liveried servants, made a public statement that she was his. “Greensleeves was all my joy” speaks to his immense pride that she was wearing those green sleeves for him and everyone knew it – as they knew when she rejected him.
Greensleeves’ Legacy, Including Shakespeare
Numerous 16th century versions of the original Greensleeves proved its immense then-contemporary popularity. In a humorous riff printed in 1584, the rejected lover details the expensive clothes he bought for his greedy “Lady Greensleeves” who still would not love him. As he bemoans each item, it becomes kind of strip tease, down to her petticoat, smock, silk stockings, garters and shoes. He even lets slip what he gave her for breakfast!
But the song’s most famous contemporary legacy, appears in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, published 1602 and performed earlier at court. Mistress Ford mocks Falstaff’s pathetic poetic seduction efforts, claiming his words “do no more adhere and keep place together then the hundred Psalms to the tune of Green-sleeves’”. Later, confident that he will succeed with seducing her, Falstaff exclaims “Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of Green-sleeves!” – a testament to its wide recognition.
Unmasking Lady Greensleeves and the Man Who Wrote Greensleeves
While we may never confirm the hidden identities of the composer and his elusive lady, the clues in the lyrics significantly narrow the choices. Elizabethans probably had a very good idea who they were.
He was a talented musician and a well-travelled nobleman, associated with heraldic “vert” or green, and greatly influenced by Italian culture. Between roughly 1570 and 1580, he wrote of his very public failed romance with and broken betrothal to a changeable, powerful and independent woman for whom he had risked his fortune and his life. He left their story encapsulated in a melody so gorgeous that it remains popular 450 years later.
What’s Your Take on the Mystery?
As you encounter various Elizabethans and their secrets through this blog, you may want to hazard some guesses as to the composer’s and his lady’s identities. I’d love to hear them! You can write me here: dorothea@dorotheadickerman.com
If you enjoyed unwrapping this holiday treat, please rewrap and regift it to a friend. And don’t forget to sign up to receive the New Year’s posts delivered straight to your inbox by signing up below!
If you liked this post, use the buttons below to share!
