Although the King's Singers are almost exclusively acappella in their live performances, they sometimes use one or two musical instruments to provide minimal accompaniment in their studio recordings.
Greensleeves
The King's Singers Lyrics
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To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.
Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
And who but my lady greensleeves.
Your vows you've broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.
Chorus
I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.
Chorus
If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.
Chorus
My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
Chorus
Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
But still thou hadst it readily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
Chorus
Well, I will pray to God on high,
That thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.
Chorus
Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still thy lover true,
Come once again and love me.
Chorus
The lyrics of Greensleeves, as performed by The King's Singers, express the sadness and anguish of a rejected lover. The song speaks directly to a woman, who the singer claims has wronged him by dismissing him discourteously. He then reveals that he has loved her for a long time and enjoyed her company, but now his heart is broken. The chorus sings the praises of Greensleeves, who was the singer's source of joy, his delight, and his heart of gold. The singer then continues to address the woman, saying that she has broken her vows and has left him feeling enraptured and captive.
The next verse brings up the singer's willingness to grant the woman anything she desired. He claims that he would even wager his life and land for her love and good-will. The chorus again mentions Greensleeves as a symbol of the singer's devotion to this woman. In the following verse, the singer reveals that he finds her disdainful behavior only more alluring. He tells her that despite her rejection, he still loves her and feels captive to her.
The following two verses describe the singer's lavish displays of affection for the woman. He dressed his men in green, playing music and waiting on his beloved's every need. But despite all this, she would not love him. The final verse provides a glimpse of hope, as the singer prays to God that his constancy might move the woman to love him before he dies. The song concludes with a farewell to Greensleeves and a wish for her prosperity, as the singer pledges to remain her true lover and hopes she will return to him.
Line by Line Meaning
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
The singer expresses sorrow that their love has mistreated them.
To cast me off discourteously.
The love interest has ended the relationship without any respect or decency.
For I have loved you well and long,
The singer has had deep and long-lasting feelings of love for their love interest.
Delighting in your company.
The artist has been happy spending time with their love interest.
Chorus:
Refrain of the song.
Greensleeves was all my joy
The song's subject, Greensleeves, was the source of all joy for the singer.
Greensleeves was my delight,
The singer found great pleasure and enjoyment in Greensleeves.
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
Greensleeves was very precious and valuable to the artist.
And who but my lady greensleeves.
The love interest is referred to as the owner of Greensleeves.
Your vows you've broken, like my heart,
The love interest has not kept promises made to the artist and this has hurt them deeply.
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
The singer is questioning why the love interest led them on or captivated them if they were going to break their promises.
Now I remain in a world apart
The artist is isolated and separated from the love interest because of the broken promises.
But my heart remains in captivity.
The singer's feelings are still held captive by their love interest, despite the hurt.
I have been ready at your hand,
The singer has always been willing to do anything for their love interest.
To grant whatever you would crave,
The singer is willing to fulfill any requests the love interest has.
I have both wagered life and land,
The artist has risked everything for the love interest.
Your love and good-will for to have.
The artist has done everything to earn the love and kindness of their love interest.
If you intend thus to disdain,
If the love interest intends to reject the singer's love,
It does the more enrapture me,
It only makes the singer more captivated with them.
And even so, I still remain
Despite the rejection, the artist's feelings remain.
A lover in captivity.
The artist is trapped by their love and unable to move on.
My men were clothed all in green,
The artist had servants dressed in green who served their love interest.
And they did ever wait on thee;
The servants were always ready to assist the love interest.
All this was gallant to be seen,
The display of servitude was impressive and respectable.
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
Despite the impressive show of loyalty, the love interest still does not return the singer's love.
Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
The singer believes the love interest had no desires that could not be fulfilled.
But still thou hadst it readily.
Anything the love interest wanted, they could obtain easily.
Thy music still to play and sing;
The artist recalls that their love interest had a passion for music.
And yet thou wouldst not love me.
Even though the love interest had no unfulfilled desires and music to enjoy, they still do not reciprocate the artist's love.
Chorus
Refrain of the song.
Well, I will pray to God on high,
The singer will appeal to God for assistance.
That thou my constancy mayst see,
The artist hopes their love interest realizes their ongoing loyalty.
And that yet once before I die,
Before the artist dies, they wish for their love interest to show them affection.
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.
The artist wishes for the love interest to give them love and affection.
Chorus
Refrain of the song.
Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
The artist is now saying goodbye to Greensleeves.
To God I pray to prosper thee,
The singer wishes Greensleeves a prosperous future.
For I am still thy lover true,
The singer is still deeply in love with Greensleeves.
Come once again and love me.
The singer still wants Greensleeves to return their love.
Contributed by Jasmine R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Ruarch
Greensleeves Lyrics for this version:
Alas, my love, you do me wrong
To cast me off discourteously
And I have loveth you so long
Delighting in your company
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight
Greensleeves was my heart of gold
And who but my lady greensleeves
I have been ever at your hand
To grant whatever you would crave
I have both wagered life and land
Your love and good-will for to have
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight
Greensleeves was my heart of gold
And who but my lady greensleeves
Well, I will pray to God on high
That thou my constancy mayst see
And that yet once before I die
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight
Greensleeves was my heart of gold
And who but my lady greensleeves
@ryzvonusef
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
And I have loved you oh so long,
Delighting in your company.
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.
I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have.
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.
Well, I will pray to God on high,
that thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.
@qwertyTRiG
xxsam Isn't þe Early Modern English, or at most Middle English? I'm fairly certain it's not Old English.
Ye also exists, as a separate word (not just as a printer's convention for þe), but it means you in the object form:
I, me, my, mine
thou, thee, thy, thine
he, him, his, his
she, her, her, hers
it, it, its, its
we, us, our, ours
you, ye, your, yours
they, them, their, theirs
@Afroninja10000
Still listening to this is 2023 ❤️ Such a beautiful rendition.
@ilzerozkalne2472
2024 :)
@TheIgor1945
Friendzone in Renaissance times
@zerogbot23
Greensleeves: I think of thou as my brother
Knight: Curses, I wouldest rather have been afflicted by thy plague
@whoremongeringass-wipe5733
@@zerogbot23 Plague? Tis' but a scratch.
@devonwalter6053
Scott Dixon the plague makes so bold to call for ‘tis it’s limited service.
@ACrimsonPhoenix
The original was an English folk song initially known as "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" written in late 1580 which is found in various late 16th and early 17th century sources. Renaissance would be a more accurate description.
@ziogustav
AHAHAHAHAH
@jankoznar8591
The most beautiful version of Greensleeves :)
@shay5609
I agree