The Lyrics of Henry VIII/Trolly lolly loly lo, Cornish

[ff. 43v-44r]

Trolly lolly loly lo syng troly loly lo my loue is to the grene wode gone now after wyll I go. syng trolly loly lo lo ly lo. 5

William Cornyshe

Textual Commentary
This piece is a short lyric of amorous play and pursuit, employing the popular mirthful refrain “Hey trolly lolly.” Possibly, this song is associated with the May Games (Stevens M&P 401).


 * 1   Trolly lolly  Similar lines are mentioned in Miles Coverdale’s “Address unto the Christian reader” prefixed to his Goastly Psalmes and Spiritual Songes (1538); he urges that people would be “better occupied” with devotional songs “than with Hey, nonny, nonny—Hey, trolly, lolly, and such like fantasies” (Chappell Popular Music 1.54).     Cf. “Hey troly loly loly” (H 50) and “Hey troly loly lo” (H 75); among the marginalia on BL Harleian MS 1,317 is a fragment of a song, “loley to syng and sey as here” (f. 94v).  Cf. also Langland’s Piers Plowman: “songen atte ale, / And holpen him to herien wiþ ‘Hey! trolly‑lolly!’” (7.108–109); the anonymous Hickscorner in which the character Free Will urges his group to sing Hey trolly lolly!” (l. 691); Skelton’s satire of a musician at court, “Agaynste A comely coystrowne”: “Lo, Jak wold be a jentylman! Wyth, Hey, troly,  loly, lo, whip here, Jak” (ll. 14–15); Folly’s discourse in Skelton’s Magnyfycence: “He dawnsys so longe, hey, troly loly, / That euery man lawghyth at his foly” (1250–51); and others. The Complaint of Scotland lists a song entitled “Troloo lolee, lemmen dou” (lxxxiii, #64; p. 64).

“Trolly lolly loly lo” is through-set for three voices. It is listed in the manuscript’s table of contents as the thirty-fourth work.

This piece is indexed in Robbins Index & Suppl. 3800.5, Ringler MS TM1774. It is reprinted in Flügel Anglia 239, Stevens M&P 401, and Stevens MCH8 32.

Texts Collated
H1,2,3 (ff. 43v–44r).


 * 1   lolly loly] lolly H2


 * 4   after]  ter  H1


 * 5   syng] hey H3;    loly lo] loly lo loly H2, lolly lo trolly H3;    lo.] loly lo. H2