Did Henry VIII actually write "Greensleeves"?

bmrsnr

There is significant doubt about whether this is the case. A study of style shows the song to have been written in in Italian style that would not have reached England until after Henry VIII's death. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensleeves#Greensleeves_and_Henry_VIII Jun 16 09, 10:37 AM

ghosttowner

While there is controversy, it appears that Henry VIII DID write "Greensleeves" in his own hand writing. http://greensleevesengland.tripod.com/ Jun 16 09, 10:38 AM

Lilady

There is a persistent belief that Greensleeves was composed by Henry VIII for his lover and future queen consort Anne Boleyn. Anne rejected Henry's attempts to seduce her and this rejection is apparently referred to in the song, when the writer's love "cast me off discourteously." However, Henry did not compose "Greensleeves", which is probably Elizabethan in origin and is based on an Italian style of composition that did not reach England until after his death.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensleeves Jun 16 09, 10:41 AM

bmrsnr

Of course, there are two principal components to consider here. The text may have been written by Henry VIII but the music most likely was not, given the aforementioned stylistic discrepancies. However, we generally cite Francis Scott Key as having written "The Star Spangled Banner" without having contributed to the accompanying music, so I suppose I could concede this point to ghosttowner. Jun 16 09, 10:53 AM

busted123

Good link to 'poss. lyrics by Henry VII' on Greensleeves. Here's more info on Francis Scott Key: http://www.usflag.org/francis.scott.key.html Says he was so glad to see an enormous flag (30x42 feet) still flying over Fort McHenry in 1814, while on a ship he wrote the lyrics ("being an amatuer poet" *sigh again*) on the back of an envelope; was printed in a few days, sung as "The Star Spangled Banner" in October as an "instant hit." No ordinary US citizen can 'hit' the notes since then. And it was also the melody he cribbed: "Anacreon in Heaven" - oookay. PS. Key wrote many revisions (fast) and there are no documents saved: reason for any provenance discrepancy. Jun 16 09, 1:39 PM

Baloo55th

Greensleeves was a rather dubious thing to apply to a loved one. To have a green gown implied certain contact with grass - specifically lying down on it..... http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6Zkbta_pjG0C&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=green+gown+prostitute&source=bl&ots=Jmq0JpR59L&sig=g4lxsS2IMm75cro9cBvn29QX9DE&hl=en&ei=3P43SpTyBd3RjAeN0-WlDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 (I do hate these Google books links.) Jun 16 09, 2:23 PM

unclerick

According to one site the British Museum has 14 songs signed "By the Kings Hand" I could not find any reference to these songs on the museum website. If anyone out there can find information on these 14 songs that would be great. Some say he was inspired to write Greensleeves while suffering from a bad cold, but I don't know. He apparently did write a popular ballad called "Pastyme With Good Company" http://www.solarhaven.org/henry8.htm http://www.metrolyrics.com/greensleeves-lyrics-loreena-mckennitt.html Jun 16 09, 3:07 PM

doublemm

Why did Gotthard Heinrici have the nickname "our poison dwarf"? Jun 23 09, 3:33 AM