1. A rap artist (Adam Ci… Read Full Bio ↴There are many artists with the name Green:
1. A rap artist (Adam Ciesielski) from Łódź, Poland. He has released two albums, Kryptonim Monolog (2010) and Buntownicy I Lojaliści (2013).
He was in groups Phonoloftaleina and Popkiller Młode Wilki, and sometimes works under the name Greenzki.
2. A power pop band from Chicago, USA. It was formed in 80s by guitarist/singer/songwriter Jeff Lescher, whose influences included the Kinks, T. Rex, and soul music.
Although such albums as Green and Elaine MacKenzie were fairly popular in Holland, Green didn't have much exposure in their home country. White Soul marked a peak in songwriting, although it's inconsisted follow-up, The Pop Tarts, was half power pop and half grunge in an attempt to gain a wider audience.
Discography:
- The Name of This Group Is Green (EP, 1984, Gang Green, sometimes is called Gotta Getta Record Out),
- Green (LP, 1986, Gang Green),
- Elaine MacKenzie (LP, 1988, Gang Green),
- REM (Single, 1989, Gang Green),
- White Soul (LP, 1989, Megadisc),
- White Soul & Bittersweet (LP + EP, 1991, Widely Distributed),
- Bittersweet (EP, 1991, Megadisc/Play It Again Sam),
- The Pop Tarts (LP, 1992, Futurist),
- Pathétique (EP, 1993, Widely Distributed),
- The Flowers In the Grass (Compilation, 1993, Megadisc),
- Green 5 (LP, 1998, B Track, sometimes called 5),
- Eau de Vie (LP, 2001, Jettison),
- The Planets (LP, 2009)
3. A danish new wave band Greene. They have released a self-titled EP Green in 1986.
(Only on this release their name is Green, please don't scrobble their other albums as Green).
4. A stoner/sludge metal band from Oulu, Finland.
5. A late-60s Texan psych rock band led by John Martin and Wilson Fisher. The self-titled album Green was released.
Unlike most Texan psych bands, Green had more of a soft-psych, baroque feel, with the band members providing the additional strings and woodwinds themselves. Features brass parts by Bobby Blood.
6. A pop band from Sweden.
Discography:
- My Special Applepie (Single, 199?, Delicious Goldfish Recordings)
- Couldn't bear to be special (MiniAlbum, 1994, Delicious Goldfish Recordings)
- Comaneci (Single, 1995, Rainbow Music)
- Schlager (LP, 1995, Rainbow Music)
7. A rock band from Madagascar. They have created a song Horohoro.
8. A sludge/post-metal band from Northern Virginia, USA, started by former Ripped Off Face member Tim Dawson, also features members of Perfect Future and Bishop and Atheist.
9. A German rock band from Hagen.
Children
Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doesn't attack me but she did once.
Intoxication's in her veins.
Sweet young boy plays with her brain.
Lydia'll bring to life.
What are your chance not to oblige.
Putting his hand on her thigh.
Ability has now been ripped.
Sweet children, sweet children, sweet children. Remember when.
Johnny's playing fun and games, or else he's ?in the storage shed?.
Running from the light of day, or maybe lie and celebrate.
The funny circus from his head.
Follow me if you understand.
I'll trick her so she'll do it.
Then I'll sing and now we run.
Sweet children, sweet children, sweet children. Remember when.
Sweet children, sweet children, sweet children. Remember when
The song “Sweet Children” by Green Day features some intense and mysterious lyrics that may confuse a listener at first. These lyrics are packed with different emotions, experiences and stories that are displayed quite cleverly throughout the song. The first two lines of the song seem to narrate an event where the singer saw a soft and blonde young girl, who didn't attack him, but has in the past. The use of the word “attack” suggests that she is someone who is violent or aggressive at times. The next line that says, “Intoxication's in her veins,” indicates that the girl might have indulged in substance abuse. The next two lines are about a boy and girl in a relationship. The girl's innocence is spoken of being lost, possibly after the boy played with her mind.
Then, “Lydia'll bring to life. What are your chance not to oblige,” might depict that someone was responsible for the girl’s condition, and that person's name might be Lydia. She has the power to bring the girl to life, to change her situation. The singer wonders if there's a chance not to oblige, meaning if the girl has an option to refuse, perhaps to go back to how she was before. “Putting his hand on her thigh. Ability has now been ripped. Take it away, I'd rather sit,” seems to be the singer's observation of the boy and girl’s physical contact, which further emphasizes the girl's loss of innocence or power. The ability that she had has been ripped away, and the singer would rather not deal with it.
In the second part of the song, the focus shifts to Johnny, who is playing fun and games, perhaps trying to block out his reality. “Running from the light of day” indicates that Johnny might be running from something, a problem or responsibility he doesn't want to face. The next lines are “The funny circus from his head. Follow me if you understand. I'll trick her so she'll do it. Then I'll sing and now we run,” somewhat cryptic but seem to suggest that Johnny is playing mind games and tricking someone into doing something. The last lines of the song repeat the chorus, “Sweet children, sweet children, sweet children. Remember when,” which might remind the listener of a time when things were simpler, innocent and pure.
Line by Line Meaning
See a young girl so soft and blonde.
Observing a young, innocent girl with blonde hair.
Doesn't attack me but she did once.
Although she didn't physically attack me, she hurt me emotionally in the past.
Intoxication's in her veins.
She is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Sweet young boy plays with her brain.
A manipulative boy is toying with her mind.
Lydia'll bring to life.
Lydia will add excitement and drama to the situation.
What are your chance not to oblige.
What are the odds of you not giving in to temptation?
Putting his hand on her thigh.
He's trying to make a move on her by touching her thigh.
Ability has now been ripped.
She has lost her ability to resist due to her intoxicated state.
Take it away, I'd rather sit.
I don't want to be a part of this situation anymore, please let me leave.
Sweet children, sweet children, sweet children. Remember when.
A nostalgic call to simpler times when life was easier.
Johnny's playing fun and games, or else he's ?in the storage shed?.
Johnny is either playing innocently or hiding in the shed, perhaps up to no good.
Running from the light of day, or maybe lie and celebrate.
Either literally running away from a situation or pretending everything is fine by celebrating.
The funny circus from his head.
His thoughts and actions are irrational and unpredictable, like a circus.
Follow me if you understand.
Come along if you're on the same page and understand what's going on.
I'll trick her so she'll do it.
I'll manipulate her into doing what I want her to do.
Then I'll sing and now we run.
After successfully manipulating her, we'll sing and quickly leave the scene.
Sweet children, sweet children, sweet children. Remember when.
Repeating the nostalgic call to simpler times.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, JOHN KIFFMEYER, MICHAEL PRITCHARD, MIKE DIRNT, MIKE PRITCHARD, MIKE RYAN PRITCHARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sophroniel
Aside from the Blue Fulgates of West Virginia (which my mind went to immediately, but I see others have mentioned this too) the only other conditions I can think of that turn one's skin a colour is the ingestion of incredible amounts of colloidal silver, which permanently turns the skin a dark blue-grey and, as I said, is permanent.
The theory I have, however, is that their family was either a group of (possibly illegal alien) miners, who lived in their mine and/or an area of dense woodlands, that could block out the sun quite successfully. I suggest mine, because if it was a copper mine, it's well know that copper turns the skin green. It seems odd to have their ENTIRE skin as being green, but maybe small children are easier to cover? What I think is more likely, however, is that there was some kind of cloth dying business that was operating in dense forestland/caves due to it being somehow illegal, i.e. if they were illegal aliens, which might explain the unfamiliar language and manner of dress (it could be some strange weave or silk, perhaps, maybe a differently processes linen, or skins?). It might also explain why they had sheep.
If anyone has, like me, had experience using industrial sized dying processes they will know that it not only gets EVERYWHERE (much like those pictures you see of coal miners, but with dye), but it stays for a long, long time before rubbing off, finally. It becomes more plausible as we well know that the medieval didn't bathe as often in the way we do now (sponge baths, or washing only targeted areas like the feet, hands, groin, armpits and face was much more common), and since dye builds up a more ground in stain on the hands—and places the hands touch—I can imagine young children getting completely covered in some potent green metallic salts dye, which would stay put but fade slowly over time and, as the skin was stained, it would not simply rub off, even with water, if it had been mordanted (or was simply saturated enough)—and that's it if even occured to the townsfolk to even try to wash the green off. Toxic dye might also explain the death of the little boy; there are many things that are toxic but not deadly, and thus it's plausible that, if the child was young enough and already weakened by some childhood illness, such compounded saturation (such as living around a dyehouse or a tanner's and being constantly exposed to moderate amounts of a toxic dye) could become, over time, as deadly as poison, which cpuld also explain his not immediate ,but still timely) death of the little boy.
Of course whether they were dying the wool of their own sheep, or if they were using potent dyes for something like fine, imported foreign fabrics l
they brought with them from the continent, or something like leather, it's all atvleast feasible to me that the children may not have exactly known how to describe their original environment/context to the new people, and plus they were likely very overwhelmed, and scared, and children at such an age are very malleable and suggestable, so who knows how much was conjecture by those who discovered them, or planting ideas that the children believed and turned into facts in their minds, despite nothing like such have ever happened. Heck, for all we know they'd been painted green for some spring/summertime ritual that was a pagan hangover and was so region locked that it was lost to time. It's just as plausible as anything else, to be honest.
A child's speech, if very young, could be unrecognisable as a specific language, especially if in an uncommon dialect, so while they could have been from foreign parents/family, it could be a pidgin language from a blended english and immigrant family, or even a kind of child language of the kind that twins and close siblings sometimes develop to talk amongst themselves; either way, having children who spoke something unfamiliar is feasible, even if somewhat unusual.
The food issues might also be explained easily; this could be that the bread and such that they were being offered might have simply been of an unfamiliar style, presentation or type to them, and given their age this may have caused further anxiety that prevented more logical communication; for example, dark square ryebread looks almost nothing like a light, round wheaten loaf, which could again be a cultural norm they were just unexperienced in having seen more variety than a limited diet their parents may have provided, especially if poor. It could even have been adults turning childish distress and refusal of food into "they did not recognise food", a small but critically different fact, that could be determined simply by viewpoint and opinion of the viewer.
It is additional to that matter that the much puzzled-over fact that they apprenrly "recognised beans" is also fairly explainable—and as is the reasons as to why/how they could recognise beans as food, but somehow not know how to get beans from the plant stalks.
One theory to explain this is that their family only traded for beans ,a staple crop at that time) so they might have seen beans before and not connected it to how they were extracted due to their very young age, and the other possibility is that their family did have a bean/pea crop, and as they were young one of their few tasks might've been chasing away birds from the fields, but they had no part in the harvest, so they only saw beans/peas in the ground and then just as beans/peas ready to cook/eat, without knowing the in between.
I think a lot of the seemingly really "odd" things that are noted in the story could really be put down to it being a situation where children were being asked to explain their experiences to adults, who were already primed to think that they were odd to begin with, and that were by then memories from when they/she was a very young child. Things like the sun/lack of sun could very easily be a young child's experience with english weather, especially if they lived in a forest, cave or just mostly inside. The language was no doubt a child's understanding, so might not have recognised anything, and it's easy for things like "unfamiliarly styled clothes" to become "strange clothes of unknown fabric". Their family may have been illegal immigrants, or even Romani Travellers, who by this stage likely looked to be physically the same as any other European/english person. And we also tend to forget just how insular England (and any other european country or any other place in the globe tbh) could be at this time, where people could have wildly different accents or traditions than some village in the next county over, even towns as close as woolpit and st martin's.
No matter how many ways we look at it there are still questions and unexplained aspects to this tale, none of which we are likely to ever definitively discover, but it's still fun trying to figure out the endless possibilities that may have happened! Thank you for putting together such a well made video on this as it's one of my favourite folkloric stories ❤
@ruthanneseven
Very interesting tale.
In 🇺🇸, we have confirmed accounts of a family with a genetic disorder that caused them to appear blue.
This was remedied by nutrition.
If the children were so young, perhaps the girl had different perceptions of her life. If they came from more northerly climes, all she might recall is winter time with short days. Perhaps the cavern brought them there, from where their family had isolated themselves. Our blue family had been inbred in isolation.
Maybe blue turned to green in the telling of the story.
Certainly the clergy would never pass up an opportunity to prove the "power" of their religion. I believe it's entirely possible they existed.
Too bad we only have clerical reports.
Some people have trouble distinguishing blue and green.
I'm sure it was quite a sensation at the time.
I might question parts of the story, but not the children's existence.
We ARE all guessing now, right? 😉
@bramsrockhopper3377
I do love your videos…
I think there is a ring of truth to it, especially the idea that they were taken into the village as curiosities and gawped at by the locals as objects of weird fascination. Children were often shockingly mistreated, sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes from sheer cruelty or hard labour or just from being utterly neglected and regarded as of no value. It still happens now, sadly, humans were ever thus…
Children, probably brother and sister, kept isolated and imprisoned somewhere in the dark, maybe even underground, fed only on a bizarre collection of foods dropped to them, possibly forbidden from (or punished for) eating anything else. They would have naturally become sickly from lack of vitamin D and their very restricted diet, as well as lack of outside air and exercise. Maybe one day they escaped and wandered off…
It would explain their strange speech (only talking to each other their entire lives), their strange hue (the description of ‘green’ could have evolved from them just looking sickly - and maybe their unusual clothing was made by some eccentric person - and was green from moss or grasses when they were found), their inability to recognise many items as possible foods, their confusion, depression and the boy’s subsequent death.
Of course folk stories evolve over time, but many such stories are the result of truths that were just twisted by time and retelling, some more than others. Figures such as King Arthur are recognised as probably true of a real king sometime during the dark ages or earlier, but time and lack of written records has made of him almost a folk figure. They live on in such stories, like most of human history before writing become more commonplace…
Thank you. Fascinating stuff.
@ellenbryn
The description of the twilight land sounds like a child's memory of the Arctic Circle, where the sun hangs below the horizon, and a strait of water seems to fit the description. Could the children have been describing a memory of their home some years earliet, having been traumatized enough to have memory loss or not having words to describe their parents' journey or, perhaps, an abduction by merchants/raiders from the shore? I also wonder if green is jaundice, although I can't think why they would've had that, except again, malnourishment of some sort or mistreatment.
Sometimes the most outlandish stories turn out to be true but garbled with a few embellishments. Then the trick is to figure out which part is garbled and which part is embellishment.
I have in mind the classic story of the furry ants in Herodotus, the father of history, often called the father of lies. he reported a tale of a colony of giant furry ants whoss ant hills were all covered in gold dust. The ants were very fierce and dangerous. So the way to harvest the gold dust was to go near them riding a swift camel with a slow camel in tow. When the ants gave chase, one would ride far away as quickly as possible, cutting the slow camel loose for them to devour, then ride back and gather up as much gold dust as possible before they returned.
People pointed to the story as an example of why one could not trust Herodotus. But not so long ago it was discovered that the ancient Persian word for marmot translated as "giant furry ant." also a colony of marmot has been discovered in northern India whose boroughs do indeed cross a gold vein close to the surface so that there is some gold dust on the ant hills. However if you know anything about marmots, the mental image of them galloping after camels and devouring them is quite funny, possibly added to the traveller's tale by someone with a sense of humor.
Not that I'm saying the children were pulling peoples legs, although they might've been, but just that sometimes very odd sounding bits of stories, like the description of the twilight land, may be due to communication problems.
But then as you say it could just be a folktale. It's impossible to tell unless you find some sort of corroborating evidence.
The detail about the beans and stalks is what makes me think it has a ring of truth. Maybe the children thought they were cattails or something else with edible pith.
@katjack2780
Now there's a story you can sink your teeth into:) All of the earlier comments certainly covered the many aspects of the story. But I don't think it's a case of having to rationalize all of the elements or somehow make them fit into a logical pattern. Looked at another way, I think it has too many "real" qualities to dismiss it as a folktale.
I'd be interested to know if it can be proven whether the knight - - Richard de Calne or de Caine of Wyke -- was an actual person. In a folktale, you would just say a local knight, not give him a very specific name that could be checked at the time. But my interest revolves around the girl. Her story only came out as she learned English. I could go with the Flemish background and the possibility of she and her brother escaping an abusive situation at home or some tragedy befalling her family. Likewise the green color having something to do with an anemia type situation, which could work if they were wandering around for a long time without food or shelter.
Being taken in by the knight, she was given food and shelter and was a center of attention to the villagers. With the death of her brother, it might be that she was now all alone in the world. As her green skin tone faded, she was at risk of losing her special status. Like anyone who has ever lived as a foreigner, she may have understood some of the local language but was unable to speak it. I'm sure people were discussing all of the possibilities of her origins in her presence, as you would if you thought the person couldn't understand you.
So when she was able to converse in English, she may have thought she had to make herself as "unique" or "magical" as possible to retain her status. Like anyone else, she would be familiar with otherworldly stories of the "fae" and she could have woven these into her tale or even details suggested by those around her who were discussing her origins.
When she later was described as "impudent" or "wanton," those seem to be very human qualities. And the ending where she married someone in the next parish is prosaic, not mysterious:}
@HistoryCalling
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@loretta_3843
I can't believe it, it would be fascinating, if true, but going by what I know about people, sounds like a tall tale to me!
@legscoll3296
Made up by storytellers that's how all fairy tales come from that's how they entertained themselves but some became the truth to some
@CassiBlack
I think it’s possible they were real, but I’d be shocked if the story wasn’t embellished. Sometimes people who are very nauseated are said to look “green.” And not eating can cause nausea. Maybe this is where the description of their skin came from in the beginning and it just snowballed from there? This is definitely one of those stories where a time machine would be nice!!
@coggie87
I live in the area, I believe they were from Fornham st Martin, either they wandered off and got lost or were left nearby woolpit by family members. As for being green in colour, I very much doubt it, but was said as green as the children were poorly when they were found.
@kittybitts567
@CassiBlack yes, I was thinking something along those lines. Awhile back people would say of someone who was sick that they were 'green around the gills.' meaning they had a sickly color.
@Lindsek
What an interesting story… The “green skin with green clothes” reminds me of the Green Knight from the Arthurian legends, who was also otherworldly and unexplainable. Though these strange children predate even that legend! Still, I wonder if they’re related at least culturally, given the Green Knight is said to be a metaphor for the mysterious power of Nature, and the children emerged from the forest themselves. Half of the duo (the boy) perished shortly after coming into contact with civilization, as Nature can, while the other half (the girl) thrived, as Nature also does. Maybe a reach, but your videos are always thought-provoking! Thank you!
@HistoryCalling
Yes, I saw some references to the Green Knight stories while I was researching this, so I think there may have been some influence there.
@williamilika4029
@History Calling The pagan Green Man legends and stories of antiquity (similar to the Green Knight) may have been familiar to the Medieval audience as well. He is associated with fertility of the fields and this story does take place during some time of harvesting food.
@loretta_3843
No more of a reach than the story itself!☺️