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"The Trees They Grow So High" is a British folk song (
Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
31,
Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
O35). The song is known by many titles, including "The Trees They Do Grow High", "Daily Growing", "Long A-Growing" and "Lady Mary Ann". A two-verse fragment of the song is found in the Scottish manuscript collection of the 1770s of David Herd. This was used by
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
as the basis for his poem "Lady Mary Ann" (published 1792).Roud, Steve & Julia Bishop (2012). ''The New Penguin Book of Folk Songs''. Penguin. . p.424. The subject of the song is an arranged marriage of a young woman by her father to a boy who is much younger than she. There are numerous versions of both the tune and lyrics. In one set of lyrics the groom is twelve when he marries and a father at 13. According to Roud and Bishop:
"Judging by the number of versions gathered in the major manuscript collections and later sound recordings, this song has been a firm favourite with singers in Britain, Ireland and North America for a long time, the wording varies surprisingly little across the English versions and the story is always the same, and these probably derive from nineteenth-century broadside printings, of which there are many."


Lyrics


Version One

The trees they grow high, the leaves they do grow green Many is the time my true love I've seen Many an hour I have watched him all alone He's young, but he's daily growing. Father, dear father, you've done me great wrong You have married me to a boy who is too young I'm twice twelve and he is but fourteen He's young, but he's daily growing. Daughter, dear daughter, I've done you no wrong I have married you to a great lord's son He'll be a man for you when I am dead and gone He's young, but he's daily growing. Father, dear father, if you see fit We'll send him to college for another year yet I'll tie blue ribbons all around his head To let the maidens know that he's married. One day I was looking o'er my father's castle wall I spied all the boys a-playing at the ball My own true love was the flower of them all He's young, but he's daily growing. And so early in the morning at the dawning of the day They went out into the hayfield to have some sport and play; And what they did there, she never would declare But she never more complained of his growing. At the age of fourteen, he was a married man At the age of fifteen, the father of a son At the age of sixteen, his grave it was green Have gone, to be wasted in battle. And death had put an end to his growing. I'll buy my love some flannel and I will make a shroud With every stitch I put in it, the tears they will pour down With every stitch I put in it, how the tears will flow Cruel fate has put an end to his growing. An even older version in a book "A North Countrie Garland, edited by James Maidment," published in 1824, includes the lyrics of the song "The Young Laird of Craigston." Those ancient words say that he had been married at age twelve, had a son at age thirteen, and was dead at age fourteen. However, one must not jump to the conclusion that the earliest version is the most accurate. There is no official record found to substantiate that Elizabeth Innis had had a baby with John Urquhart Jr. However, Elizabeth had remarried Alexander Lord Brodie and records prove that she had three kids by him. Records also show that John Urquhart Jr. had been born in 1611 and his wife, Elizabeth Innis, had been born in 1621 (so she had been 10 years younger than Lord Craigston). It is interesting to note that Elizabeth's brother, Adam Innis of Reidhall, had a daughter, Jane Innis, who had married Thomas Pitt (aka Diamond Pitt, who had purchased the Pitt diamond from the remnants of the kingdom of New Sarum, India, while under orders to cease trading).


Version Two

The trees they grow so high and the leaves they do grow green, And many a cold winter's night my love and I have seen. Of a cold winter's night, my love, you and I alone have been, Whilst my bonny boy is young, he's a-growing. Growing, growing, Whilst my bonny boy is young, he's a-growing. O father, dearest father, you've done to me great wrong, You've tied me to a boy when you know he is too young. O daughter, dearest daughter, if you wait a little while, A lady you shall be while he's growing. Growing, growing, A lady you shall be while he's growing. I'll send your love to college all for a year or two And then in the meantime he will do for you; I'll buy him white ribbons, tie them round his bonny waist To let the ladies know that he's married. Married, married, To let the ladies know that he's married. I went up to the college and I looked over the wall, Saw four and twenty gentlemen playing at bat and ball. I called to my true love, but they would not let him come, All because he was a young boy and growing. Growing, growing, All because he was a young boy and growing. At the age of sixteen, he was a married man And at the age of seventeen he was a father to a son, And at the age of eighteen the grass grew over him, Cruel death soon put an end to his growing. Growing, growing, Cruel death soon put an end to his growing. And now my love is dead and in his grave doth lie, The green grass grows o'er him so very, very high. I'll sit and I'll mourn his fate until the day I die, And I'll watch o'er his child while he's growing. Growing, growing, And I'll watch o'er his child while he's growing.


Background

The
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
was printed on numerous broadsides. For copies of some of these see the Bodleian Library at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
in Great Britain. The words may have been based on the 17th-century wedding of Lord Craigston, John Urquhart to Elizabeth Innes and her subsequent marriage to Alexander Brodie in 1635. She was several years older than Brodie. Baring-Gould and other scholars note, however, that the ballad may be older. There are various arrangers of this early folk song including the famous English composer
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
. The British composer
Patrick Hadley Patrick Arthur Sheldon Hadley (5 March 1899 – 17 December 1973) was a British composer. Biography Patrick Sheldon Hadley was born on 5 March 1899 in Cambridge. His father, William Sheldon Hadley, was at that time a fellow of Pembroke Co ...
wrote a large-scale choral symphony on a version of the tune and lyrics.


Recordings


Field Recordings

Dozens of authentic
field recording Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It also applies to sound recordings like electromagnetic fields or vibra ...
s have been made of the song, including a 1907 phonograph recording of David Penfold, the landlord of the Plough Inn at
Rusper Rusper is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies north of the town of Horsham and west of Crawley. Rusper is the centre of Rusper Parish which covers most of the northern area between Horsham and Cr ...
in Sussex, made by the English composer and folk music collector Ralph Vaughan Williams. English traditional singers Fred Jordan of
Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...
,
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
and Walter Pardon of Knapton,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
were recorded singing their traditional versions of the song in the 1960s and 1970s. A recording of May Bradley (also of Ludlow), which can be heard online via the
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), located in the society's London headquarters, Cecil Sharp House. It is a multi-media library comprising books, periodic ...
, was probably the recording that inspired many of the popular versions. Several versions have been recorded in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, including one sung by Shelia Stewart in 1960. Like most popular British folk songs, the song has appeared many times in North America, across the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.


Popular Recordings

Since the 1960s, the song has appeared on albums by many folk-influenced artists, including
Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
, who included it on her second album, ''
Joan Baez, Vol. 2 ''Joan Baez, Vol. 2'' is the second studio album by Joan Baez. Released in 1961, the album, like her self-titled 1960 debut album, featured mostly traditional songs. The bluegrass band The Greenbriar Boys provided backup on two songs. ''Joan Bae ...
'' in 1961, as well as Martin Carthy's first LP in 1965. Another famous version appeared on Alan Stivell's best-selling 1972 album ''Olympia live''. The song was also recorded by Pentangle on their '' Sweet Child'' album, Steeleye Span on ''
Now We Are Six ''Now We Are Six'' is a book of thirty-five children's verses by A. A. Milne, with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. It was first published in 1927 including poems such as "King John's Christmas", "Binker" and "Pinkle Purr". Eleven of the poem ...
'' (as "Long-A-Growing"), and by Angelo Branduardi (Italian version "Gli Alberi Sono Alti") on his '' La Luna'' in 1975. Sarah Brightman also recorded the song on her '' The Trees They Grow So High'' album. An a cappella version appears on
Brenda Wootton Brenda Wootton (née Ellery) (10 February 1928 – 11 March 1994) was a British folk singer and poet and was seen as an ambassador for Cornish tradition and culture in all the Celtic nations and as far as Australia and Canada. Early l ...
's 1975 album ''Starry Gazey Pie'', sung in two-part harmony with Robert Bartlett. This song was released again as "The Trees, They Do Grow High" By the California-based folk band
Golden Bough ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...
on their self-named album in 1981. The song was then included on the album "Contemporary Songs: The Nigh Wind", originally released in 2001. In 2002 the song was recorded under the title "Daily Growing" by the Irish band Altan, with Mairead Ní Mhaonaigh singing and
Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...
contributing as guest singer, on the album ''The Blue Idol''. It has been performed in concert by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan under the title "Young But Growing". It was also recorded by
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
during '' The Basement Tapes'' sessions, but was released later on the bootlegs of ''The Genuine Basement Tapes'' and later, ''A Tree With Roots''. On 4 November 2014, it appeared on the official release, ''The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete''. In 2009
Show of Hands Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/ folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mando ...
used the first verse as a refrain on their song "IED", from their album '' Arrogance Ignorance and Greed''. In 2012, Merrymouth, a folk band led by
Simon Fowler Simon Geoffrey Fowler (born 25 May 1965 in Meriden, Warwickshire) is an English singer and acoustic guitarist, best known as the frontman of Ocean Colour Scene. The Fanatics Simon Fowler commenced his music career as the lead singer and songwr ...
of
Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English rock band formed in Solihull in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to dat ...
recorded the song for their eponymous album.
The Voice of the People ''The Voice of the People'' is an anthology of folk songs produced by Topic Records containing recordings of traditional singers and musicians from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The series was first issued in 1998 as 20 CDs, compiled by Dr ...
includes two recordings by traditional singers: ''The Bonny Boy'' sung by Fred Jordan on ''Volume 3: O’er His Grave the Grass Grew Green – Tragic Ballads'', and ''Young But Growing'' sung by Mary McGarvey on ''Good People, Take Warning : Ballads by British and Irish Traditional Singers.'' The Scottish singer Alasdair Roberts sometimes performs the song unaccompanied, as an encore. Irish folk singer Cara Dillon made a free arrangement of the story called "He's Young But He's Growing".


References


External links


Bodleian Library
at the University of Oxford, Great Britain
Digital Tradition Folk Music Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trees They Grow So High British folk songs Folk ballads Year of song unknown Joan Baez songs 18th-century songs