"The name of her sounded so sweete in mine eare,
O willow, &c.
It rays'd my heart lightly, the name of my deare;
O willow, &c.45
Sing, O the greene willow, &c.
"As then 'twas my comfort, it now is my griefe;
O willow, &c.
It now brings me anguish; then brought me reliefe.
O willow, &c.50
Sing, O the greene willow, &c.
"Farewell, faire false hearted, plaints end with my breath!
O willow, willow, willow!
Thou dost loath me, I love thee, though cause of my death.
O willow, willow, willow!55
O willow, willow, willow!
Sing, O the greene willow shall be my garland."
GREENSLEEVES.
From A Handefull of Pleasant Delites, &c., London, 1584, as reprinted in Park's Heliconia, vol. ii. p. 23. It is there entitled A New Courtly Sonet of the Lady Greensleeves. To the new Tune of Greensleeves.
"The earliest mention of the ballad of Green Sleeves, in the Registers of the Stationers' Company, is in September, 1580, when Richard Jones had licensed to him A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Green Sleeves."
"Green Sleeves, or Which nobody can deny, has been a favorite tune from the time of Elizabeth to the present day, and is still frequently to be heard in the streets of London to songs with the old burden, Which nobody can deny. It will also be recognized as the air of Christmas comes but once a year, and many another merry ditty." Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time, p. 227.
Greensleeves is twice alluded to by Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Act ii. Sc. 1; Act v. Sc. 5.