Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK) is a cla… Read Full Bio ↴Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK) is a classically trained composer. A longtime collaborator of actor/director Kenneth Branagh, Doyle is known for his work scoring such critically acclaimed films as Henry V (1989), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Hamlet (1996), and Gosford Park (2001), as well as such noteworthy blockbusters as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Eragon (2006), Thor (2011), and Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). Doyle has been nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

Doyle was born on 6 April 1953 in Scotland and graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama in 1975. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama in 2001. He joined the Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987 as composer and musical director creating scores for highly successful productions of such plays as Hamlet, As You Like It, and Look Back in Anger. Doyle's film score debut occurred in 1989 when actor/director Kenneth Branagh commissioned Doyle to compose a score for the Renaissance Film's production of Henry V. The song "Non Nobis, Domine" from the film was subsequently awarded the 1989 Ivor Novello Award for Best Film Theme. He has since scored nine Kenneth Branagh films including Dead Again (1991), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Hamlet (1996), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), As You Like It (2006), Sleuth (2007), and Thor (2011).

In October 1997, shortly after scoring Great Expectations, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Doyle was diagnosed with leukemia. He managed to complete his score for the animated fantasy Quest for Camelot (1998) in hospital whilst undergoing treatment. Doyle made a full recovery.

In 1998 Patrick Doyle’s Music from the Movies concert, sponsored by Leukaemia Research UK was staged at the Royal Albert Hall. It was directed by Kenneth Branagh and starred a host of international stars including Emma Thompson, Sir Derek Jacobi, Dame Judi Dench, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Richard E. Grant, Adrian Lester, and Robbie Coltrane.

He has composed a series of classical works outside of films that include "The Thistle and the Rose", commissioned in 1990 by Prince Charles in honor of the 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth I; the violin romance "Corarsik", written for Emma Thompson's birthday; the album "Impressions of America: A Suite for Orchestra"; and the symphonic tone poem "Tam O Shanter", commissioned by the Scottish Schools Orchestra Trust.

Doyle has recently completed the scores for Marvel Studios Thor (2011) and the 20th Century Fox film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011). He is currently working on the upcoming Pixar film Brave (2012), directed by Mark Andrews, after which he will be working on the Sovereign Films film Effie directed by Richard Laxton.

No More Nannies
Patrick Doyle Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh nor more;
Men were deceivers ever;
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never;
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe

Into. Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no mo,
Or dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leavy.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,

Converting all your sounds of woe
Into. Hey, nonny, nonny.

Overall Meaning

In Patrick Doyle's song "No More Nannies," the lyrics are derived from William Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing, specifically from Act 2, Scene 3. The song captures the essence of the scene where Balthasar, a musician, is singing a song to a group of ladies, urging them to stop sighing and lamenting about men's deceitfulness. The lyrics speak to the idea that men have always been deceivers, juggling between their commitments and never remaining constant. The imagery used of having one foot in the sea and one on shore further emphasizes their lack of devotion.

The refrain "Then sigh not so, but let them go" encourages the ladies to abandon their sorrowful thoughts and instead embrace a cheerful and lively attitude. The phrase "be you blithe and bonny" encourages them to be happy and beautiful. The song suggests that instead of dwelling on the deceitfulness of men, the ladies should transform their sorrowful sounds into joyful ones, symbolized by the repetitive phrase "Hey nonny, nonny."

The second stanza emphasizes the timeless nature of men's deceit, claiming that it has been a prevailing aspect of relationships since the beginning of time itself. The phrase "ditties" refers to songs, suggesting that the ladies should refrain from singing sad and heavy tunes. Instead, they should adopt the same approach suggested in the previous stanza, letting go of their sorrows and embracing a light-hearted demeanor.

Line by Line Meaning

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh nor more;
Stop sighing, ladies, stop sighing;

Men were deceivers ever;
Men have always been deceivers;

One foot in sea and one on shore,
They never commit fully to anything;

To one thing constant never;
They are never faithful to one thing;

Then sigh not so,
So, don't sigh,

But let them go,
Let them go,

And be you blithe and bonny;
And you be cheerful and lively;

Converting all your sounds of woe
Turning all your sad sounds

Into. Hey nonny, nonny.
Into joyful sounds of 'hey nonny, nonny.'

Sing no more ditties, sing no mo,
Stop singing sad songs, stop singing them,

Or dumps so dull and heavy;
Or melancholic and heavy songs;