Download the PDF sheet music for Greensleeves now!
Sheet Music Video
Listen to Greensleeves on our Youtube channel!
Sheet Music Video
Listen to Greensleeves on our Youtube channel!
Sheet Music Video
Listen to Greensleeves on our Youtube channel!
Sheet Music Video
Listen to Greensleeves on our Youtube channel!
Sheet Music Video
Listen to Greensleeves on our Youtube channel!
Sheet Music Video
Listen to Greensleeves on our Youtube channel!
Sheet Music Video
Listen to Greensleeves on our Youtube channel!
Sheet Music Video
Listen to Greensleeves on our Youtube channel!
Description
The famous song Greensleeves is a 16th century English Renaissance love song. Its composer remains unknown, and it appears in these early sources :
- As a broadside ballad entitled : A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves. London Stationer's Company (1580)
- As A New Courtly Sonnet of the Lady Green Sleeves. To the new tune of Green sleeves, in A Handful of Pleasant Delights (1584)
The Greensleeves melody is found in several late 16th century and early 17th century sources, such as Ballet's MS Lute Book and Het Luitboek van Thysius, as well as various other manuscripts. It was a favorite in England in the days of Queen Elizabeth I, and Shakespeare mentions it in his play The Merry Wives of Windsor (ca 1602).
Legend has it that Greensleeves may have been composed by King Henry VIII (1491-1547) for his lover and future queen consort Anne Boleyn. However, it is unlikely that King Henry VIII composed this piece, as the song is written in a style which was not known in England until after Henry VIII died.
Greensleeves can make a nice calm prelude or processional for a wedding. With it's celtic-like melody, this piece makes for an original addition to a wedding's music.
