"Early One Morning" (

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 ...

V9617) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

with lyrics first found in publications as far back as 1787.Patrick M. Liebergen, Singer's Library of Song: Medium Voice (Alfred Music Publishing, 2005) , 164. A broadside ballad sheet in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

, Oxford, dated between 1828 and 1829 has the title "The Lamenting Maid" and refers to the lover leaving to become a sailor. The now well-known melody was first printed by William Chappell in his publication ''National English Airs'' c.1855-1859. The melody may be derived from an earlier song "The Forsaken Lover". Chappell wrote in his later ''Popular Music of the Olden Time'':

If I were required to name three of the most popular songs among the servant-maids of the present generation, I should say, from my own experience, that they are ''Cupid's Garden'', ''I sow'd the seeds of love'', and ''Early one morning''. I have heard ''Early one morning'' sung by servants who came from
Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
, from
Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a populatio ...
and from
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
shire, and by others from parts nearer to London. The tune... was, I believe first printed in my collection.... from one of the penny song-books collected by Ritson, and it is curious that scarcely any two copies agree beyond the second line, although the subject is always the same - a damsel's complaint for the loss of her lover.

This tune was also used as the opening and closing theme to the beloved Canadian children's short programme, ''

The Friendly Giant ''The Friendly Giant'' was a children's television program that aired on CBC Television from September 30, 1958 through to March 1985. It featured three main characters: a giant named Friendly (played by Bob Homme), who lived in a huge castle, alo ...

'' (1958-1985).

Lyrics

Early one morning,
Just as the sun was rising,
I heard a young maid sing,
In the valley below. CHORUS: ''Oh, don't deceive me,''
''Oh, never leave me,''
''How could you use''
''A poor maiden so?'' Remember the vows,
That you made to your Mary,
Remember the bow'r,
Where you vowed to be true, ''Chorus'' Oh Gay is the garland,
And fresh are the roses,
I've culled from the garden,
To place upon thy brow. ''Chorus'' Thus sang the poor maiden,
Her sorrows bewailing,
Thus sang the poor maid,
In the valley below. ''Chorus'' *Another version: Early one morning
just as the sun was rising,
I heard a young maid sing
in the valley below. Oh, don't deceive me,
Oh, never leave me,
How could you use
A poor maiden so? Remember the vows that
you made to me truly,
Remember how tenderly
you nestled close to me. Gay is the garland
fresh are the roses
I've culled from the garden
to bind over thee. Here I now wander
alone as I wonder
Why did you leave me
to sigh and complain. I ask of the roses
why should I be forsaken,
Why must I here in sorrow remain? Through yonder grove by the spring that is running,
There you and I have so merrily played,
Kissing and courting and gently sporting,
Oh, my innocent heart you've betrayed. Soon you will meet with another pretty maiden,
Some pretty maiden,
you'll court her for a while. Thus ever ranging
turning and changing,
Always seeking for a girl that is new. Thus sung the maiden,
her sorrows bewailing
Thus sung the maid
in the valley below Oh, don't deceive me,
Oh, never leave me,
How could you use
A poor maiden so?

Arrangements

The folk song is used in a number of well known folk-song arrangements, for example by the English composers

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 ...

and

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...

along with the Australian composer Percy Aldridge Grainger. Its melody forms the opening bars of the "

Radio 4 UK Theme The ''BBC Radio 4 UK Theme'' is an orchestral arrangement of traditional British and Irish airs compiled by Fritz Spiegl and arranged by Manfred Arlan. It was played every morning on BBC Radio 4 between 23 November 1978 and 23 April 2006. Th ...

" by

Fritz Spiegl Fritz Spiegl (27 January 1926 – 23 March 2003) was an Austrian-born English musician, journalist, broadcaster, humorist and collector who lived and worked in Britain from 1939. His works include compiling the Radio 4 UK Theme in 1978. Early li ...

, which was played every morning at the switch-on of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

from late 1978 until April 2006. The melody was also adapted by Sir Francis Vivian Dunn as a military slow march called "The Globe and Laurel", created for the Band of the Royal Marines in 1935. The melody is one of the main themes of the "Nell Gwyn Overture" by

Edward German Sir Edward German (17 February 1862 – 11 November 1936) was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of En ...

. The melody was used for many years as the opening theme music for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governme ...

children's TV series, ''

'', and was performed by star

Bob Homme Robert Mandt Homme, C.M. ( ; March 8, 1919 – May 2, 2000) was an American-Canadian television actor. Homme was best known as the host of ''The Friendly Giant'', a popular children's television program that aired from the 1950s through the 1980 ...

on recorder at the end of every episode.

Recordings

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 19 ...

, on ''

The Trees They Grow So High "The Trees They Grow So High" is a British folk song ( Roud 31, Laws 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 foun ...

''. *

Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first albu ...

, on '' Somewhere''. *

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...

and

Nancy Olson Nancy Ann Olson (born July 14, 1928) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Sunset Boulevard'' (1950). She co-starred with William Holden in four films, and later appeared in ...

sang the song in the 1960 Disney film ''

Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, known ...

''. *

Jim Moray Jim Moray (born 1981) is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Recording artist While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded ''I Am Jim Moray'' EP. During ...

sang the song in his album ''Sweet England''. *

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Ge ...

on ''Quand tu chantes''. *

The Tornados The Tornados (The Tornadoes in North America) were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits ...

recorded an instrumental rock version under the name "Blackpool Rock" The Tornados - Blackpool Rock
/ref>

References

External links

{{Authority control English folk songs