Many is th… Read Full Bio ↴The trees, they grow high, and the leaves, they do grow green
Many is the time my true love I've seen
Many an hour I 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 am 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
And he will be a man for 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 a blue ribbon all around his head
To let the maidens know that he is married
One day I was looking over my father's castle wall
I spied all the boys playing with a ball
And my own true love, he was the flower of them all
He's young but he's daily growing
And so early in the morning at the dawning of the day
They went into a hayfield for to have some sport and play
And what they did there she never would declare
But she never more complained of his growing
At the age of fourteen he was a married man
At the age of fifteen, the father of my son
At the age of sixteen, his grave, it was green
And death had put an end to his growing
I'll buy my love some flannel, I'll make my love a shroud
And every stitch I put in it, the tears, they'll pour down
Amd every stitch I put in it, how the tears, they will flow
Cruel fate has put an end to his growing
Daily Growing
Altan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Many is the time my true love I've seen
Many an hour I 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 am twice twelve and he is but fourteen
Daughter, dear daughter, I've done you no wrong
I have married you to a great lord's son
And he will be a man for 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 a blue ribbon all around his head
To let the maidens know that he is married
One day I was looking over my father's castle wall
I spied all the boys playing with a ball
And my own true love, he was the flower of them all
He's young but he's daily growing
And so early in the morning at the dawning of the day
They went into a hayfield for to have some sport and play
And what they did there she never would declare
But she never more complained of his growing
At the age of fourteen he was a married man
At the age of fifteen, the father of my son
At the age of sixteen, his grave, it was green
And death had put an end to his growing
I'll buy my love some flannel, I'll make my love a shroud
And every stitch I put in it, the tears, they'll pour down
Amd every stitch I put in it, how the tears, they will flow
Cruel fate has put an end to his growing
The song "Daily Growing" by Altan is a traditional Scottish ballad that tells a story of a young couple who are married at a young age. The first three stanzas establish the setting and central conflict of the song. The singer describes the trees growing high and the leaves turning green, as the young couple is growing up. The singer has seen her true love many times, and she has watched him often. However, many seemed to think that the lovebirds were too young, as the singer's father married her off to a boy who is only fourteen when the singer is twice his age. The father justifies his decision by saying that the boy will become a man when he is gone. The singer disagrees, proposing to send the boy to college for another year and ties a blue ribbon around his head to let others know he is married.
Despite everyone's questioning of their marriage, the couple grows closer, shown by the singer's admiration of her true love's youthful and vibrant spirit. One day, the singer sees him playing with a ball, and he is the "flower" of all the boys. The final stanzas are the sad conclusion, revealing that the couple's young age resulted in a tragic end. At the age of fourteen, the singer's husband became a father, and at only sixteen, he passed away, and the singer is left to mourn him.
"Daily Growing" is a somber ballad that laments the loss of young love due to untimely death. The lyrics tug at the heartstrings, and the melody builds on the emotion evoked by the words. Overall, it tells the timeless story of young love, the challenges it faces, and the tragedies that sometimes come along with it.
Line by Line Meaning
The trees, they grow high, and the leaves, they do grow green
Nature continues to grow and evolve as time goes on.
Many is the time my true love I've seen
I have seen my beloved many times.
Many an hour I watched him all alone
I have spent countless hours watching him by myself.
He's young but he's daily growing
Though he is young, he continues to grow and mature day by day.
Father, dear father, you've done me great wrong
Father, I do not agree with the decision you made for my life.
You have married me to a boy who is too young
You have forced me to marry a boy who is not yet mature enough.
I am twice twelve and he is but fourteen
I am 24 years old while he is only 14.
Daughter, dear daughter, I've done you no wrong
My daughter, I believe I have made the right decision for you.
I have married you to a great lord's son
You are now married to a man who is of high status and will provide for you.
And he will be a man for you when I am dead and gone
He will be a mature adult who can take care of you even after I pass away.
Father, dear father, if you see fit
Father, if you agree with me,
We'll send him to college for another year yet
We can send him to continue his education for another year.
I'll tie a blue ribbon all around his head
I will mark him as taken.
To let the maidens know that he is married
So that other women will know that he is already spoken for.
One day I was looking over my father's castle wall
While I was observing the view from my father's castle,
I spied all the boys playing with a ball
I noticed all the boys playing a game with a ball.
And my own true love, he was the flower of them all
My own true love was the most handsome and skillful of them all.
And so early in the morning at the dawning of the day
One morning at sunrise,
They went into a hayfield for to have some sport and play
They went to a hayfield for some recreation and fun.
And what they did there she never would declare
She never revealed what happened there.
But she never more complained of his growing
She was content with his maturation and increasing age after that point.
At the age of fourteen he was a married man
At the young age of 14, he was already married.
At the age of fifteen, the father of my son
By the time he was 15, he had fathered a child with me.
At the age of sixteen, his grave, it was green
He died at 16 years old and his grave had a fresh layer of grass covering it.
And death had put an end to his growing
He was unable to continue maturing and growing because he had died.
I'll buy my love some flannel, I'll make my love a shroud
I will honor my deceased love by making his burial shroud.
And every stitch I put in it, the tears, they'll pour down
With every stitch I sew into it, I will cry tears of sadness.
Amd every stitch I put in it, how the tears, they will flow
While sewing, I will cry even more due to my emotional pain.
Cruel fate has put an end to his growing
Unfortunate circumstances led to his untimely death, preventing him from fully growing and maturing.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CIARAN CURRAN, CIARAN TOURISH, DERMOT BYRNE, DONAL LUNNY, MAIREAD NI MHAONAIGH, MARK KELLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robin Perry
This song is the one that brought me to Altan. I'm going to go experience their performance live tomorrow for the first time. I do hope they do this one. I'm so glad they're still travelling - even to the desert southwest of the U.S., no less.
Anna Nocentini
I love this song. I learned it high school in Italy thanks to my beloved English teacher. She gave us a cd of them to learn pronunciation. It stopped working and I had been unable to find this version for ages (don't know why). And now I find myself in Ireland for the first time, ages later than I should have, and gazing into a field with cows and sheeps I remembered this song and found it straight away.
Edoardo Siebaldi
@anna Nocentini: il brano è maggiormente conosciuto come "Trees they do grow high" portato all' attenzione soprattutto da Pentangle e Martin Carthy
Vera W
I also listened to this song in the spring of my teenage time. Now I'm in Paris, France, I recalled the feelings that i had in 2011-2012. PS: I'm a Chinese😅😅
angel450179
Father ： Daughter, dear daughter, I've done you no wrong, 女兒,親愛的女兒,我給你的安排並沒有錯, I have married you to a great lord's son, 我把你嫁給一個顯耀貴族的兒子, He will be a man for you when I am dead and gone, 一旦我老去,他將是你可以依靠的男人, He's young but he's daily growing 他還小,但他在一天天長大.
Robin Perry
I have read the comments below and really can't offer any insight of my own into the origins of this tune, but must say that it captured my attention when I first heard it many years ago and I still, now and again, come back to have some more of it. It is such a lovely, sweet, sad song sung by such a beautiful voice. (The band isn't half bad either.). Thank you, Altan. You really are so good.
Stella Isis Rothe
This is my favorite version of this old beauty.
Barry Rishi
agreed !
Storm Bringerr
a hauntingly beautiful and sad song by Altan from ages gone by.its almost like im eaves dropping on a lady's song in a medieval castle....this is an old English balled, not Irish. i take no sides since my ancestry is welsh.
Cazabisarmes
This song is... CELTIC POWER!!