Here's some background I found:
GREENSLEEVES
(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.
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.
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.
If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.
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.
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.
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.
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.
@courtship
recorded by Deller Consort on Best Loved Songs
also Dyer-Bennett
-----------------------------------------
"What Child Is This?" is a popular
Christmas carol that was written in 1865. At the age of twenty-nine, writer
William Chatterton Dix was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bedrest for several months, during which he went into a deep
depression.[
citation needed] Yet out of his
near-death experience, Dix wrote many
hymns, including ĀWhat Child is This?Ā It was later[
citation needed] set to the
traditional English melody of "
Greensleeves".
-------------------------------and LAST but not least-------
The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs: RadarThere is no conclusive information regarding the
origin of
Greensleeves. The Henry VIII legend is charming but unlikely to be true.
...
