> Folk Music > Songs > Through the Woods / Down the Green Groves / Maria

Through the Woods / Down the Green Groves / Maria

[ Roud 1478 ; Master title: Through the Woods ; Ballad Index ReCi088 ; trad.]

Fred Hamer: Garners Gay James Reeves: The Everlasting Circle

Fred Hamer collected Down the Green Groves from May Bradley of Shropshire in October 1959 and printed it in his book Garners Gay (London: E.F.D.S. Publications, 1976). He noted:

Another folk song classic which was sung around the camp fires of the travelling people who provided the seasonal labour in the fruit farms and hopfields of the Welsh border and gathered the wild fruit to take to market. Mrs. Leather collected several versions fifty years ago and this story, which in its more sophisticated versions is usually called Oxford City, is still quite well known in Herefordshire and Shropshire.

May Bradley’s version can be heard on her 2010 Musical Traditions anthology Sweet Swansea where Rod Stradling noted:

Although this looks like the song known as Oxford City, Poison in a Glass of Wine or Jealousy—with a verse about green groves added at the start as a scene-setter, since they have a plot and a few lines in common—Roud has it as an autonomous piece, with the master title, Through the Woods. Other versions in Sharp’s Mss, Greig Duncan, The Everlasting Circle, and Alfred Williams’ Mss.

Fred Jordan sang Down the Green Groves in 1966 on his Topic LP Songs of a Shropshire Farm Worker and on the 2003 Veteran anthology CD box set A Shropshire Lad. A.L. Lloyd commented in the original album’s sleeve notes:

Fred has this song in slightly confused form. Usually there’s no wicked squire (perhaps he has strayed in from the story of Maria Marten and the Red Barn murder?). As a rule, a sincere but desperate suitor is rejected by Maria, and poisons her and himself out of jealousy. The ballad is called Oxford City on broadsides published by Catnach, Jackson of Birmingham, Harkness of Preston and H. Such. In America a variant is well known under the name of Rose Connolly. Fred Jordan learnt his version from travelling folk drifting through his locality.

Tim Radford sang Maria in 2009 on his Forest Tracks album of songs collected by George B. Gardiner in 1906-07 from the Hampshire gardener George Blake (1829-1916), George Blake’s Legacy. He noted:

Gardiner mss. no. 314 from notebook no. 6 page 77 and the text was collected on 6 June 1906 at St. Denys, although it does say in the manuscript that the music was collected later on 18 June 1906.

Gardiner also collected a song called Maria and William from Mrs. King of Lyndhurst, H375 (notebook 7 page 97), only ten days after collecting from Blake. She only had two verses with little resemblance to Blake’s, and with a different tune. […]

A version of the song was collected by The Hammonds from Mrs. Gulliver in April 1905 also called William and Maria that can be found in James Reeves’ book The Everlasting Circle, page 186. This version of the song has the same beginning as Maria, but the Jealousy/Oxford City ending.

The Maria as collected from Blake, as can be seen, has a totally different ending that does not include the “poisoning” as found in Oxford City, etc., even though she does finally die in the song. In consultation with Malcolm Douglas and Steve Gardham, we all agree that the song is a version of Down the Green Groves, Roud 1478, and Steve is actively examining all songs of this ilk that are incorrectly catalogued in Roud. This song was also collected from May Bradley by Fred Hamer, and was recorded by Fred Jordan.

It should also be noted that George Blake sang a version of Oxford City [Jealousy, and recorded by Tim Radford on the same album], and it seems unlikely he thought of them as being the same song. It could also be speculated that this song was very important to George Blake, because his wife, his second daughter and a granddaughter all share the name Maria, and it was one of the earliest songs collected from him. I also spent a lot of time researching how to pronounce the name “Maria”, and you can hear how when listening to the song.

I have also changed the sequence of the verses from that collected from Blake, who sang my second verse as his first verse. This sequence is much more in line with other versions of Down the Green Groves and makes more sense.

Lankum sang Willow Garden on their 2017 CD Between the Earth and Sky.

Lyrics

May Bradley sings Down the Green Groves

Now it’s down the green groves I were wandering,
Down the green groves by the spring.
There I saw those lambs were playing
And the birds they whistled and they did sing.

Although my name it is Maria
Just a poor girl I agree,
But he courted her both late and early
Until he had his will of me.

So soon he had his will and pleasure
Jealousy grew in his mind,
And for to destroy his own true lover
He gave to her a glass of wine.

Soon she drank it, soon she felt it,
Daylight now will soon appear.
“Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, my constant Johnny,
It’s all for the sake of you I die.”

Now it’s hark, hark, hark the cocks are crowing,
Daylight now will soon appear.
But it’s down in the lonesome grave I’m going
It’s all through my false lover that’s brought me here.

Nine long hours she lay dying,
Daylight now will soon appear.
“Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, my constant Johnny
It’s all for the sake of you I die,
All for the sake of you I die.”

Fred Jordan sings Down the Green Groves

It’s down the green groves I was wandering,
Down the green groves by the spring.
It’s there I saw the lambs were playing
And the birds whistle and they do sing.

Although my name it is Maria
Just a poor girl, I agree,
It’s there I met a rich young squire
And he had his way with me.

It’s first he had his will and pleasure
Then he left me far to roam,
Never no more to seek his pleasure
With me until my babe was born.

He caught me dancing with another,
Jealousy then filled his mind.
He caught me dancing with his brother
He ordered me to drink some wine.

Now it’s hark, hark, hark, the cocks are crowing,
Daylight then will soon be here.
“Oh, Johnny, oh, Johnny, my own true Johnny,
The wine you gave me has made me queer.”

Tim Radford sings Maria

Twas through the groves as we were walking,
Through the groves close by a stream
𝄆 To view those little lambs lie sporting
And the small birds sweetly sing. 𝄇

Although my name it is Maria,
This young man he is true I believe
𝄆 He courted her both late and early,
Till her heart he hath ruined. 𝄇

’Twas through the groves as we were walking
Through the groves close by a town
𝄆 All about love have we been talking,
He kindly asked her to sit down. 𝄇

He says, “Fair maid may I enjoy you?
One to you I will prove true
𝄆 I hope the heavens may now destroy me,
If I ever prove false to you.” 𝄇

Now when he had his will and pleasure
This young man he went with a scorn
𝄆 And never again did she behold him
Till her little babe was born. 𝄇

Nine long hours as she lay dying
And most bitterly did cry.
𝄆 She cried out, “My absent Billy
For your sake my dear I’ll die.” 𝄇

“Oh, hush my babe, the cock is crowing
Daylight now is drawing near
𝄆 To my grave I’m just now going
Shall I meet my false love there?” 𝄇