Another project, Boyd Rice & Fiends, has also included: Rice, Pearce, Martinek, Moynihan and McDowall.
Sites: Discogs
Down In The Willow Garden
Boyd Rice and Friends Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a garden old
Tripped a beauteous maiden
But her heart was cold
Came a prince to woo her
Said he loved her true
Maiden said he didn’t
And so he ceased to woo
Dropping on one knee
Said his love was deeper
Than the deepest sea
But the whimsed maiden
Said his love was dead
And the perfumed note
Accepted what she said
Came a dashing stranger
Took her off by force
Said he’d make her love him
And she did
Of course...
The lyrics of Boyd Rice and Friends' song "Down In The Willow Garden" revolves around a classic tale of love, rejection, and forcible love. The singer is a beautiful woman with a cold heart who is being pursued by suitors. The first suitor was a prince who professed his love, but the maiden claimed that his love was not genuine. Following him was another suitor, who wrote her a perfumed note and professed his love for her, but the maiden rejected him as well, saying that his love was dead. Finally, a dashing stranger abducts the maiden and forces her to love him, which she does.
The song has a somber tone to it, alluding to the theme of unrequited love and the darker aspects of human emotions. The willow garden in the lyrics is a metaphor for the fragility of love, and how quickly it can turn sour. The song highlights the different techniques people employ to get someone to love them - professing love, sending perfumed notes, and even forcibly abducting them. It paints a picture of the desperation people feel when faced with unrequited love, and how far they are willing to go to make it work.
Line by Line Meaning
Down a winding pathway
They were in a garden, following a path that was curvy and twisted.
In a garden old
The garden was quite old, ancient and had been there for a long time.
Tripped a beauteous maiden
A beautiful young woman who was present with them tripped while walking in the garden.
But her heart was cold
The woman was not open to love and was not interested.
Came a prince to woo her
A prince arrived to win the girl's affection.
Said he loved her true
The prince claimed that he loved her genuinely from his heart.
Maiden said he didn’t
The girl told the prince that she didn't believe he loved her.
And so he ceased to woo
The prince stopped trying to win her over.
Came a perfumed note
The girl received a note that smelled sweet, it was probably scented with perfume.
Dropping on one knee
The author gives us an image of someone dropping down on one knee, perhaps to plead or beg.
Said his love was deeper
The message in the note was that the other man's love was even more profound than the prince's love.
Than the deepest sea
The author uses a simile, comparing the depth of love to the unfathomable deep sea.
But the whimsed maiden
The girl, who is capricious in nature and prone to changing her mind, rejected his overtures.
Said his love was dead
She claimed that she thought the person's love for her was dead and no longer there.
And the perfumed note
The letter was unable to convince her otherwise.
Accepted what she said
The girl stuck to her decision, and that was the end of it.
Came a dashing stranger
A bold and debonair man arrived on the scene
Took her off by force
He seized her and took her away without her consent.
Said he’d make her love him
The man promised to make her fall in love with him even if he had to force it.
And she did
In the end, the woman succumbed and fell in love with him.
Of course...
The author adds a slightly sarcastic note, implying that this was bound to happen.
Contributed by Brody R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.