Country Gardens

"Country Gardens" can be dated as far back as 1728, when a version using a very similar tune to the now popular version appeared in Thomas Walker's Quaker's Opera, written as a parody of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay.[1]

The tune was collected by Cecil Sharp from the playing of William Kimber; Sharp transcribed the song from Kimber's playing in 1906, and his transcription can be viewed online via the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.[2] Kimber, who was later recorded playing the tune on concertina in London in 1948,[3] had performed it in the same way for Morris Dancers in the nineteenth century. His version was one of several variants collected from Cotswold villages and used for Morris dances: "Bampton in the Bush" (collected by Roy Dommett from Arnold Woodley); "Field Town" (Leafield collected by Kenworthy Schofield) ; "Headington" (collected by Carey) and "Longborough" (collected by Cecil Sharp and Schofield).[4]

The Australian composer and folklorist Percy Grainger helped popularise the song when he arranged it for piano in 1918. Grainger seemed to have become bored of the tune when he re-orchestrated the piece later in life with intentional "wrong" notes, and remarked:[5]

“The typical English country garden is not often used to grow flowers in; it is more likely to be a vegetable plot. So you can think of turnips as I play it.”

Despite its simplistic nature, it is arguably Grainger's most well-known work;[6] because of this, "Country Gardens" was added to the Australian National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2008.[7] The tune and the Grainger arrangement for piano and orchestra remains a favourite with school orchestras.[5]

The eighteenth century satirical song "The Vicar of Bray" is based on the "Country Gardens" tune.

Jimmie Rodgers sang a well-known version ("English Country Garden"), which reached Number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1962.[8] Oddly, the lyrics refer to several species of bird which are not native to England, but are found only in the Americas.[9]

Anglo-Australian comedian, Rolf Harris, recorded a parody of the Rodgers version in the 1970s.[10]

Comedian Allan Sherman used this melody as the tune for his 1963 song, "Here's to the Crabgrass".[11]

The American jazz musician Charlie Parker and his collaborators, frequently ended a number with a brief snatch of it.[12]

The video game Weird Dreams uses the song while the player is in an area called "Country Garden".[13]

• Radio 4 UK Theme

• Historical background
• Listen to "Country Gardens" on australianscreen online and read more about the title