William Butler Yeats wrote the poem “Down by the Salley Gardens” in the late 19th century, and it was set to music a few decades later. But this reel actually has nothing to do with the Yeats poem or subsequent song. “The Sally Gardens” as a fiddle tune is much livelier, as reels tend to be.
According to the Traditional Tune Archive, a “sally garden” is a grove of willow trees, which were harvested to make wicket baskets and furniture. A willow grove was also apparently a popular place for young lovers to hide away, which might explain why the “salley” of the Yeats poem has been modified to a woman’s name in the title of the fiddle tune.
The song was popularized in the States by Joe Cooley and Paddy O’Brien in New York in the 20th century. Here’s a video of Paddy playing it on his accordion on the Ted Mac show in 1954.
“The Sally Gardens” Playing Tips
The melody of “Sally” meanders up and down the major scale in a near-constant string of eighth notes. The key to learning this one is to find a recording that you like, get the feel of the tune in your head, and focus on targeting those quarter notes for emphasis.
Here’s a rendition of the tune on solo mandolin that is slow enough for you to be able to get a good feel for the song. It’s in a different key than the uke version, though, so you’ll have to wait until I get around to making a recording for a play-along track.
If you find yourself getting lost amid the willow branches on this one, I’ve made a simplified arrangement that has a few more quarter notes that you can hang onto to get your bearings. It’s the bottom download link below the PDF embed. Happy picking!
The-Sally-Gardens-Low-G-Ukulele-Level-1“The Sally Gardens” Low G Sheet Music Download
“The Sally Gardens (Simplified)” Low G Sheet Music Download
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