Maypole: Official Month of Maying

To the country bagpipe's sound
The nymphs tread out their grou-ound

If we sit and muse we might
O'erlook youth's sweet deli-ight
What say, dainty nymph and speak,
Shall we play barley brea-eak?

At Storvik Music Ensemble practice on Tuesday, we tried a voice-and-recorder version of "Official Month of Maying."  The extended vowels on "ground," "delight," and "break" really don't work well at all.

There's a fair solution to "barley break" and that's "break the barley."  The stresses are in the right places and it's the right number of syllables.  It's somewhat akin to asking if someone would like to play "the war of tugging," though.  However, since I think you'd understand me if I asked you to play the war of tugging, that's not so awful.  But you lose the rhyme.  Gr.  I didn't notice this before, I think because the last verse of Morley doesn't rhyme to my ear anyway - maybe in his day "speak" and "break" rhymed, but not so much today.

I'm really not sure I like the idea of shoe-horning a random single syllable in between "barley" and "break" to maintain a "rhyme" that isn't apparent anyway.  I think I'll leave it as "break the barley" for the moment.

I'd like the nymphs to tread out their "dancing ground," but that's too many syllables.  "Dance ground"?  "Dance" is a noun, but we have "dance halls" as well.  I think that'll work.

And I almost forgot "youth's sweet delight" needs an extra syllable, too.  Oh, dear.  "Sweet" takes a stress and so does "-light."  I can't put an extra word between "sweet" and "delight" without make it "SWEET (word) DE-light."  That's not kosher - the word is pronounced de-LIGHT.  There either needs to be an unaccented syllable after "delight" which rhymes with "might," or else a re-write of this line.  "O'erlook youth's SWEETness AND light"?  ...no.  For a variety of reasons, the top two being that I'm going to try and squeeze "sweetness" into the space for "sweet" and AND really doesn't need a stress.  Never mind the dubious virtue of using the expression "sweetness and light."

"O'erlook youth's joys, all (adjective) bright."  Yes.  What's a good adjective?  Brass or gold?  Brass alliterates, but implies a cheapness we're not looking for.  I suppose gold.

 

The Official Month of Maying

- to the tune of the Bransle Official from Arbeau

   Now we celebrate the spring
When merry lads are playing  
Each lad with his bonny lass  
A-dancing on the green grass

    Chorus:
Fa la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la  
Now is the month of Maying  
Fa la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la  
Now is the month of Maying

    The Spring, in blooming flowered dress,    
Doth laugh at Winter's sadness    
To the country bagpipe's sound    
The nymphs tread out their dance ground

   If we sit and muse we might
O'erlook youth's joys, all gold bright
Say what, dainty nymph and speak
Shall we play break the barley?