{"id":460,"date":"2013-07-13T08:54:53","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T12:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/?page_id=460"},"modified":"2026-02-23T21:57:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T01:57:50","slug":"life-of-a-leaf","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/?page_id=460","title":{"rendered":"Life of a Leaf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Also known as “Life of a Man”, or “What’s The Life of a Man?”\u00a0 I first heard this in 1978, sung on the X Seamen’s Institute’s album Heart of Oak<\/a>\u00a0(Bernie Clay and the boys) and it has been one of those songs that when I sing it, most people I know tell me they’ve never heard it before.\u00a0 It dates to the latter 19th century and I am aware\u00a0of it being collected was by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1904 from a J. Wright, Coombe Bisset<\/a>, Wiltshire, UK.\u00a0 Also see the version I’ll place at the bottom of this page.\u00a0 As much as the “plastic Paddies” out there would like to continue claiming that the song dates back to 18th century Ireland or earlier, there is no proof of this; rather, the style of verse and melody is far more in line with 19th century English composition. I have been informed lately that it was a broadside ballad originally entitled “The Fall Of The Leaf”, emanating from the south of England in the late 19th century.\u00a0 Whatever the case it is a beautiful song and should be shared by all.<\/p>\n

Jos. Morneault<\/p>\n

\"Life<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As I was a-walking one morning at ease
\nA-viewing the leaves as they clung to the trees
\nAll in full motion appearing to me
\nAnd those that had withered, they fell from the trees.<\/p>\n

Chorus:
\nWhat\u2019s the life of a man, any more than a leaf?<\/em><\/strong>
\n A man has his seasons, so why should we grieve<\/em><\/strong>
\n Although in this world we appear bright and gay<\/em><\/strong>
\n Like a leaf we must wither, and soon fade away.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you had seen the leaves just a few days ago
\nHow bright and how beautiful they all seemed to grow
\nA frost came upon them and withered them all
\nThe rains gently fell, and down they did fall.<\/p>\n

Chorus:<\/p>\n

If you walk in a churchyard, it\u2019s there you will see
\nThose that had withered like the leaves upon the trees
\nOld age and affliction upon them did call
\nAnd then like the leaves, well down they did fall.<\/p>\n

Chorus:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nhttps:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/12-Life-of-a-Leaf-segment.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\"The<\/a>

The above segment is from Joseph’s Tavern Sing recording… Click on the image to be taken to Ebay to purchase the whole CD.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A version found in \u201cFolk-Songs of the Upper Thames, with an essay on folk-song activity in the upper Thames neighbourhood.\u201d Alfred Williams. London: Duckworth & Co. 1923<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Also known as “Life of a Man”, or “What’s The Life of a Man?”\u00a0 I first heard this in 1978, sung on the X Seamen’s Institute’s album Heart of Oak\u00a0(Bernie Clay and the boys) and it has been one of those songs that when I sing it, most people I know tell me they’ve never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-460","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6650,"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/460\/revisions\/6650"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thejovialcrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}