The Golden Willow Tree

Background information: Commonly known as "The Golden Vanity", this ballad is a variant of the Child ballad #286, known as "The Sweet Trinity", which can be dated back to 1685. There are over 100 variants of this song. Often times the names of the ships and where they are from are changed, but the overall story is similar in each one (Eenvoudig, 2022).

Click the button below to download the sheet music

Video recording

Lesson Plans

Idea #1

-Form students in a large circle if space allows.

-Have them take four steps forward, four steps in place, four step back, and four steps in place to a steady beat.

-Have them repeat this pattern as you sing the first verse of the ballad to them.

-Go over the background information and general story of the ballad with the students.

-Have students reform the circle and during the phrase "And she sailed on the lowlands lie so low" have them take eight steps to the right, and eight steps to the left on the last phrase of four measures of the song.

-Combine the two movement patterns as you sing the whole ballad.

-Have students come up with their own movement ideas for the ballad.

Idea #2

-There are many different recordings and variants of this ballad. Many of them can be found on this webpage: http://jopiepopie.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-golden-willow-tree-lowlands-golden.html

-After having introduced the ballad to the students, choose two or three recording for students to compare and contrast.