Morley's Barley: It's More than Soup!
Now Is the Month of Maying Lyrics by Sir Thomas Morley, Published, 1595, Now is the month of Maying, when merry lads are playing! Fa la la la la! Each with his bonny lass, upon the greeny grass fa la la la la! The Spring, clad all in gladness, doth laugh at Winter's sadness! Fa la la la la! And to the bagpipes’ sound, the nymphs tread out the ground! Fa la la la la! Fie! Then why sit we musing, youth’s sweet delight refusing? Fa la la la la! Say, dainty nymphs and speak! Shall we play barley break? Fa la la la la! A brief study of the quaint phrase in the song Now is the Month of Maying ." Say, dainty nymphs and speak! Shall we play barley break? " The song is a light-hearted one about the return of spring. Most of the lyrics are still easily understood today, apart from that last line. Since this issue at hand this month is springtime fun, I thought to examine "barley break" and discovered it was a game along the same lines as "Red Rover...