Multakukkaset toukokuun

Toukokuu ja Vappu lähestyvät uhkaavasti. Videolla tsekkiläiset sellistit esittävät brittiläistä kansansävelmää viileähköissä olosuhteissa.

No nythän on niin, että kappaleen englanninkielinen vakiintunut nimi on Greensleeves, ja sanat, joissa ei hippaa oteta toukokuun kukkasiin kertovat ihan muista asioista. Väitetään, että laulun olisi tehnyt Henry The Eight Boleynin Annalle, mutta se lienee legendaa. Kun mainitaan sana green (vihreä) ja sleeve (hiha), joudutaan väistämäti politiikan ankariin kurimuksiin. Vihreällä värillä oli lauluntekoaikoihin varsinkin naisten vaatetuksessa hieman pejoratiivinen merkitys. Neito, jonka mekossa oli ruohikossa kieriskelyn johdosta väriä, oli vähän arveluttava - nytkin vihreä poliittisessa merkityksessä on joidenkin mielestä semmoinen.

Mitä taas hihoihin tulee, niiden merkittämisen merkityksistä keskustellaan parhaillaan monen muun tärkeän aiheen ohella. Hihamerkkien historia on pitkä ja monipuolinen. Ennen sotia oli Suomessa monella ässä hihassa. Mikäli olet kiinnostunut hihamerkeistä, valinnanvaraa löytyy identifiointiisi vaikkapa myös täältä.

Hihamerkki lienee kuitenkin turvallisempi kuin hihapuukko.

Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.

Chorus:
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.

Alas, my love, that you should own
A heart of wanton vanity,
So must I meditate alone
Upon your insincerity.

(Chorus)

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.

(Chorus)

If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity.

(Chorus)

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.

(Chorus)

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.

(Chorus)

I bought thee kerchiefs for thy head,
That were wrought fine and gallantly;
I kept thee at both board and bed,
Which cost my purse well-favoredly.

(Chorus)

I bought thee petticoats of the best,
The cloth so fine as it might be;
I gave thee jewels for thy chest,
And all this cost I spent on thee.

(Chorus)

Thy smock of silk, both fair and white,
With gold embroidered gorgeously;
Thy petticoat of sendal right,
And these I bought thee gladly.

(Chorus)

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.

(Chorus)

They set thee up, they took thee down,
They served thee with humility;
Thy foot might not once touch the ground,
And yet thou wouldst not love me.

(Chorus)

'Tis, 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.

(Chorus)

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.

Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.