The Sprig of Thyme

The Seeds of Love, sung by the gardener John England, was the first folksong legendary folklorist Cecil Sharp ever collected while he was staying with Charles Marson, vicar of Hambridge, Somerset, England, in 1903.[2] Maud Karpeles wrote about this occasion in her 1967 autobiography:

Cecil Sharp was sitting in the vicarage garden talking to Charles Marson and to Mattie Kay, who was likewise staying at Hambridge, when he heard John England quietly singing to himself as he mowed the vicarage lawn. Cecil Sharp whipped out his notebook and took down the tune; and then persuaded John to give him the words. He immediately harmonised the song; and that same evening it was sung at a choir supper by Mattie Kay, Cecil Sharp accompanying. The audience was delighted; as one said, it was the first time that the song had been put into evening dress.[3]

In one version of Maiden’s Lament,[4] the narrator tells her audience to keep their gardens fair and not to let anyone steal their thyme. Once, she had a sprig of thyme but a gardener’s son came with a red rose, a blue violet and some bitter rue. He stole the thyme and left only rue, with its "running root", growing in its place. Her parents were angry but she will cut the head off the rose and plant a willow for all to see. There is many a "dark and cloudy morn brings forth a pleasant day" and "there are fine boats sailing here".

In a version of Let No Man Steal Your Thyme,[1] she wishes she were in her lover’s arms but she tells false men not to give her cause to complain about the grass underfoot being "trodden down" – in time, it will rise again.

In some versions of Garners Gay,[5] the narrator plucks up all rue and plants a sturdy oak in its place with the hope that it will grow strong and remain as true as the stars do to the sky.

Other plants are mentioned in other versions.

The representative symbolism is as follows:[6]

• "Thyme" – virginity and, to an extent, time.
• "Red Rose" – romantic love, lust or "wanton passion"
• "Violet" – modesty
• "Willow" – sorrow and despair
• "Rue" – regret
• "Oak" – strength, loyalty

• Jean Redpath recorded "Rue" on her 1962 Prestige album "Skipping Barefoot Through the Heather".
• Anne Briggs recorded a version of Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (1963), which is included on A Collection
• Kathy and Carol recorded A Sprig of Thyme for their 1965 album Kathy and Carol (Elektra EKL-289).
• Pentangle recorded "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" on their 1968 debut The Pentangle.
• Shelagh McDonald recorded "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" on Album (1970); the song was re-released on 2005's Let No Man Steal Your Thyme.
• Foster and Allen recorded A Bunch of Thyme as a single in 1979 and released an album of the same name in 1980.
• Roberts and Barrand recorded "Garners Gay" on their 1983 Live at Holstein's!
• Jim Moray performed Seeds Of Love on his 2003 album Sweet England
• Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker recorded "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" on their 2014 album Nothing Can Bring Back The Hour.
• Carey Mulligan and Michael Sheen performed a version of Let No Man Steal Your Thyme in the 2015 film adaptation of Far From The Madding Crowd.
• Cassie and Maggie MacDonald recorded “Let No Man Steal Your Thyme” on their 2016 recording “The Willow Collection”.

• Reeves, James (1960) The Everlasting Circle. London: Heinemann; pp. 229–38