This edition was prepared by Jennifer Bastable — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Down by the Salley Gardens
Staff Notation • Secular, Folk songs
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Down by the Salley Gardens by Jennifer Bastable — Lyrics
Down by the salley gardens
my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens
with little snowwhite feet.
She bid me take love easy,
as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish,
with her would not agree.
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About Down by the Salley Gardens
Jennifer Bastable’s arrangement of this traditional Irish folk song offers a tender setting for SATB choir, with an optional solo tenor line. The music captures the gentle melancholy of the text, portraying a lost love and the singer’s subsequent regret. The composer’s setting of the familiar words reflects the folk origin, with flowing melodic lines and a clear harmonic language that allows the poignant story to unfold. The interplay between the solo voice and the choir, if used, adds a further layer of intimacy to the narrative of youthful folly and the sorrow it brings. This is a moving interpretation of a much-loved song.
