The version Debbie has put into her book was arranged for lute by Francis
Cutting. I believe that his arrangement was done in the 16th century, and
therefore is somewhat contemporaneous with the song "Greensleeves" itself,
whether Good King Hal (ahem) penned it or not.
(Slightly off the subject: I would like at some time to do a set with
"Greensleeves" -- believed to have been written by Henry VIII -- and "O
Death Rock Me Asleep" -- said to have been written by Anne Boleyn. Now
there would be an interesting double bill!)
As someone else has pointed out, the melody line is recognizable as coming
from the original tune; I find it slightly more so on the second variation.
I like to play the Cutting version and then go into the more familiar
version, especially at Yuletide performances, when "What Child is This" and
"Silent Night" get played 50 times a day on request. It livens things up
and adds new interest to a lovely but unfortunately overplayed (and often
ill-used) tune.
calliope@mail.utexas.edu
"Our words must seem to be inevitable." -- William Butler Yeats