Roses Of Picardy
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"Roses of Picardy" is a popular British song with lyrics by Frederic Weatherly and music by Haydn Wood. Published in London in 1916 by
Chappell & Co Chappell & Co. was an England, English company that publisher of sheet music, published music and manufactured pianos. Founded by pianist Samuel Chappell, the company was one of the leading music publishers and piano manufacturers in Britain unt ...
, it is one of the most famous songs of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and has been recorded frequently up to the present day.


Background

The lyricist
Fred Weatherly Frederic Edward Weatherly, King's Counsel, KC (4 October 1848 – 7 September 1929) was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He was christened and brought up using the name Frederick Edward Weatherly, and appears to have adopted ...
had become impressed with beauty of the voice of the
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
Elsie Griffin, who later became a leading artiste with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Her singing of his compositions resulted in his writing two of the most popular hits of the 20th-century " Danny Boy" (1910) and "Roses of Picardy". The composer Haydn Wood wrote the music for over 200 ballads, of which "Roses of Picardy" became his most popular. Wood related that the melody came to him as he was going home one night on the top of a London bus. He jumped off the bus and wrote down the refrain on an old envelope while standing under a street lamp. The exact story that lies behind the words of the song is unclear, but in his 1926 memoirs, Weatherly suggested that it concerned a love affair of one of his close friends. Weatherly himself travelled in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, but visited the Rhone valley and
Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...
.
Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
was a pre-Revolutionary province in the north of France near the Channel, the site of battles during the Hundred Years’ War and mentioned in Shakepeare’s history plays.  In the 20th century, it was regarded as stretching from north of
Noyon Noyon (; ; , Noviomagus of the Viromandui, Veromandui, then ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department, Northern France. Geography Noyon lies on the river Oise (river), Oise, about northeast of Paris. The ...
to
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne department. During the stalemate of the Western Front during
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, British and Empire troops manned the lines in central Picardy.  In the summer of 1916, these troops fought the first
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...
in some of the deadliest and fiercest fighting of the war. "Roses of Picardy" was published in December and quickly became popular throughout Britain, with British soldiers singing it when they were dispatched to the Front in France and
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. During the First World War, the song sold at a rate of 50,000 copies of the sheet music per month, earning Haydn Wood approximately £10,000 in total (£ in adjusted for inflation). Following the war, the singing of the song helped soldiers who were suffering from
shell shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...
to regain their powers of speech.


Lyric

The following lyric is taken from the sheet music published in 1916: Verse 1: :She is watching by the poplars, Colinette with the sea-blue eyes, :She is watching and longing and waiting Where the long white roadway lies. :And a song stirs in the silence, As the wind in the boughs above, :She listens and starts and trembles, 'Tis the first little song of love: Refrain :Roses are shining in Picardy, in the hush of the silver dew, :Roses are flowering in Picardy, but there's never a rose like you! :And the roses will die with the summertime, and our roads may be far apart, :But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy! :'tis the rose that I keep in my heart! Verse 2: :And the years fly on for ever, Till the shadows veil their skies, :But he loves to hold her little hands, And look in her sea-blue eyes. :And she sees the road by the poplars, Where they met in the bygone years, :For the first little song of the roses Is the last little song she hears: There is also a French version of the song under the title of "Dansons la Rose". The following words for its refrain are taken from the recording by
Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...
: :Dire que cet air nous semblait vieillot, :Aujourd'hui il me semble nouveau, :Et puis surtout c'était toi et moi, :Ces deux mots ne vieillissent pas. :Souviens-toi ça parlait de la Picardie, :Et des roses qu'on trouve là-bas, :Tous les deux amoureux nous avons dansé :Sur les roses de ce temps-là.


Recordings

Among the earliest commercial recordings were those by the tenors
Lambert Murphy Harry Lambert Murphy (1 April 15, 1885 – July 25, 1954) was an American operatic tenor. Biography He was born as Harry Lambert Murphy in Springfield, Massachusetts on 15 April 1885. While pursuing an academic course at Harvard University, he ...
in 1917, Ernest Pike in 1918 and John McCormack in 1919. There are more than 150 recordings of the song sung in English and versions in Finnish, French, Spanish and German. There are also many instrumental versions, for example for piano, violin, string ensemble, jazz band and numerous different types of orchestra. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the American jazz artist
Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...
, a long-time resident in France, popularised a Swing version, and it was also recorded by the French popular singer
Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...
. Singer Dorothy Squires recorded various versions of the song. In 1967 Vince Hill had a
Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...
hit with the song. In 2001, the folk stylist
June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. ...
recorded a version for her album '' Rosa Mundi''. In 2011 the Canadian tenor Ben Heppner recorded the song for BMG and the tenor Alfie Boe recorded it for the soundtrack of the British period drama television series ''
Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...
''. "Roses of Picardy" was included on the
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...
of the 2015 film '' The Danish Girl'' by
Tom Hooper Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker. Known for his work in film and television he has received numerous accolades includ ...
.


Listen to the song

You can use the following links to listen to the song being performed: * Popular 1917 version by English tenor Ernest Pike: * As played by a 1920s Pianola (player piano): * As sung by Australian
bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...
Peter Dawson in 1939: * As sung by British entertainer Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...
in 1941: * As recorded by Welsh singer Dorothy Squires in the late 1940s: * As played by British trumpeter Eddie Calvert in 1954: * As sung by American entertainer
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...
in 1957: * As sung by Scottish-Canadian tenor John McDermott (singer) in 1999: * As sung by
June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. ...
in 2001: * French version sung by André Dassary about 2017: * As played by Romani jazz guitarist, Tchavolo Schmitt, * As played by Swedish jazz combo Jazz Pirates:


Notes and references

;Notes ;References


External links


Website about Haydn Wood with full discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roses of Picardy 1916 songs British songs Songs of World War I Songs written by Frederic Weatherly Songs about France Songs about flowers Vince Hill songs