Nobody can agree on the lyrics to 'Greensleeves'

[Vitriola]

One version:

1: Alas my love, you do me wrong
To cast me off discourteously
And I have loved you oh so long
Delighting in your company

Ch: Greensleeves was my delight
Greensleeves my heart of gold
Greensleeves was my heart of joy
And who, but my Lady Greensleeves

2: I have been ready at your hand
To grant whatever thou wouldst crave
I have waged both life and land
Your love and goodwill for to have

(Ch)

3: Thy petticoat of sattin white
With gold embroidered gorgeously
Thy petticoat of silken white
And these I bought thee gladly

(Ch)

Another version, which does not include at all one of the stanzas to the last version:

(poss. Henry VIII of England, 1500's.)

Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
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,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
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

And these aren't either one the version I was taught in elementary school, which went rather like this:

Alas my love, ye do me wrong,

to cast me off discourteously:

And I have loved oh you so long

Delighting in your companie.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

This song is ruined by making kids in band play it while they are learning their instruments. Greensleeves only means one thing to a 5th grader.

[Worm]

This song is ruined by making kids in band play it while they are learning their instruments. Greensleeves only means one thing to a 5th grader.

Pussy?

Anyway, no one can agree on anything too old.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

How did you go from Greensleeves to pussy, my friend? HOW? HOW? HOW?

And I hope you had a good Christmas. Bears mentioning.

[Worm]

Fine. Trying to make those guys on Q23 understand why calling 'Wii Sports' GOTY is completely wrong.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I'll check that out. My own two-second opinion is that Wii Sports will be very much loved by people who got turned off by the nonsense that had occurred in so many other video games lately. So giving a new control mechanism is the proverbial skewer of meat offered to the Christian-eating lion who went hungry on Christmas because all the Christians stayed home.

[Vitriola]

We didn't play Greensleeves in 5th grade, we played Lets! Go! Band!

My had to spend a year on Kyrie Elaison (Mr. Mister) in 8th grade, though.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I was psyched when the Internet Lyrical Database came along (Google, in other words - seriously, there is nothing that makes me click on "view cached page" quicker than trying to look up a lyric). When Beaver releases its 20th Annivesary CD with new songs you will all be pumped as well because the line "CARRY A LASER DOWN THE ROAD THAT I MUST TRAVEL" will be a misremembered bridesmaid no more!

[AArdvark]

I just died in your armpit tonight, must have been something you ate...


THE
MY FAVORITE
LYRIC
AARDVARK

[bruce]

"CARRY A LASER DOWN THE ROAD THAT I MUST TRAVEL"

That should be one of chmod's lines in the Panto remake, too.

Bruce