Early One Morning

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Early One Morning is an old English Folksong.

[edit] Words

Early one morning,
Just as the sun was rising,
I heard a 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

Alternate Lyrics:

Early one morning, just as the sun was rising,
I heard a 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!

"How could you slight so a pretty girl who loves you,
A pretty girl who loves you so dearly and warm?
Though love's folly is surely but a fancy,
Still it should prove to me sweeter than your scorn.

"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 sang the maiden, her sorrows bewailing;
Thus sang the poor maid in the valley below:
"Oh don't deceive me, Oh never leave me,
How could you use a poor maiden so?"

[edit] Notability

The folk song is particularly notable for its use in a number of well known folk-song arrangements, for example its usage in the opening bars of the BBC Radio 4 UK Theme by Fritz Spiegl, which until April 2006 was played every morning at 5.30am.

Perhaps the most gentle yet long lived use of this tune rests with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) children's programme The Friendly Giant which aired between 1958 to 1985 and used Early One Morning as its introductory theme. The music was played on recorder by Bob Homme who passed away in May 2000.

An esoteric version of the song, arranged and sung by Jim Moray was nominated for the Best Traditional Song category at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2004.

It is sung by Samantha, in the TV series Bewitched.

The King's Singers sing it on their CD, Watching the White Wheat.

It also became notorious as Frank Spencer's choice of song in the BBC situation comedy Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.

Early One Morning was the folk song that The First Evil used as a trigger to make the vampire Spike kill humans again, despite his chip and soul, in the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Early One Morning is playing in the background at the beginning of the tale of Sir Launcelot just before his assistant is 'mortally wounded' with an arrow.

It is also the title of an early CD by Sarah Brightman.