Early One Morning facts for kids

Early One Morning is a very old and well-known English folk song. Its words first appeared in books way back in 1787. One of the earliest printed versions, from around 1828-1829, was called "The Lamenting Maid." It told the story of a girl whose true love was leaving to become a sailor.

The tune we know today was first printed by a man named William Chappell in his music collection around 1855-1859. He thought the melody might have come from an even older song called "The Forsaken Lover." Chappell once wrote that Early One Morning was one of the most popular songs among young women working as servants. He heard it sung by people from many different parts of England. He also noted that while the song was very popular, the words often changed a little from one version to another, but the main idea was always about a girl sad because her lover left her.

Lyrics of the Song

The most common version of the song's lyrics goes like this:

There are also other versions of the song with slightly different words, but they all tell a similar story of a heartbroken maiden.

How the Song is Used

This folk song's melody is so beautiful that many famous composers have used it in their music.

Music Arrangements

• English composers like Benjamin Britten and Gordon Jacob, and Australian composer Percy Aldridge Grainger, have created their own versions of the song.
• The tune starts the "Radio 4 UK Theme" by Fritz Spiegl. This theme was played every morning on BBC Radio 4 in the UK for many years, from 1978 to 2006.
• Sir Francis Vivian Dunn adapted the melody in 1935 for a military march called "The Globe and Laurel," played by the Band of the Royal Marines.
• The melody is also a main part of the "Nell Gwyn Overture" by Edward German.

Recordings by Artists

Many singers have recorded Early One Morning:

• Sarah Brightman on her album The Trees They Grow So High.
• Eva Cassidy on her album Somewhere.
• Hayley Mills and Nancy Olson sang it in the 1960 Disney movie Pollyanna.
• Jim Moray included it on his album Sweet England.
• Nana Mouskouri sang it on Quand tu chantes.

Appearances in TV and Film

The song has also been featured in many television shows and movies:

• The first two seasons of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955–57) used the tune for their opening rhymes.
• In the 1959 movie Libel (film), the song was an important part of the story.
• It was sung in the 1960 movie Pollyanna.
• The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) children's show The Friendly Giant (1958–1985) used an instrumental version of the song as its opening and closing theme.
• Frank Spencer sang it in the BBC comedy show Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.
• In Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 7), the song was used to make the vampire Spike act violently. One episode was even named "Never Leave Me" after a line from the song.
• In Will & Grace, Will Truman played the beginning of the song on a breadstick.
• It appeared in at least three episodes of Bonanza. Characters sang it in "The Wooing of Abigail Jones," "The Actress," and "Dead and Gone."
• Elizabeth Montgomery sang it in a 1970 episode of Bewitched when her character, Samantha, traveled back in time to 16th Century England.
• In the 1971 BBC show Tom Brown's Schooldays, a character named George Arthur sang it during a school ritual.
• Tessa Peake-Jones, playing Mary Bennet, sang this song in the 1980 TV show Pride and Prejudice.
• It was sung in an improvised music hall evening in a 2013 episode of the BBC1 show The Paradise.
• Angela Lansbury sang it in the "It Runs in the Family" episode of Murder She Wrote (Season 4).

In Books

The song is also an important part of Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking book series.