Down by the Salley gardens

General information

The poem by William Butler Yeats was published in 1889 and apparently first set to the tune THE MOORELOUGH SHORE, with which it has remained associated, by Herbert Hughes in his 1909 arrangement (Irish Country Songs vol. 2). Rebecca Clarke (1924, re-arr. w/ violin c. 1950) and John Ireland (1931, or 1943?) each wrote new tunes for the text.

View the Wikipedia article on Down by the Salley gardens.

Settings by composers

• Down by the Salley gardens (Traditional)
  • arr. John Christensen SATB
  • arr. Anthony Pasqua SSABr
  • arr. Anne Dubrofsky Baritone & piano
  • arr. Willem Verkaik SSATB
• Benjamin Britten (1943)

Other settings possibly not included in the manual list above

• Horst Hinze — Down by the Salley gardens

Texts and Translations

English text 1  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. 2  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.

German translation Dort unten bei den Sally Gardens traf ich meine Geliebte. Sie durchschritt die Sally Gardens mit ihren schneeweißen Füßen. Sie bat mich, die Liebe leicht zu nehmen, wie die Blätter am Baum wachsen. Aber ich, jung und töricht wie ich war, wollte ihr nicht zustimmen. Auf dem Feld nahe beim Fluss standen meine Geliebte und ich, und auf meine angelehnte Schulter legte sie ihre schneeweiße Hand. Sie bat mich, das Leben leicht zu nehmen, so wie das Gras auf den Wehren wächst. Aber ich war jung und töricht und nun bin ich voller Tränen.

External links

• Down by the Salley gardens at the Petrucci Music Library (IMSLP)