Song from A Man For All Seasons

Cafe Society
1

I was watching the movie A Man For All Seasons again a few days ago (I tend to watch it several times a year at least). As is always the case the song that Henry sings at his wedding caught my attention (in large part due to Robert Shaw’s fantastic voice) and I want to find out what it is. This time I happened to be at my computer so I tried googling it to no avail. All I know about it are the lines that Henry sings which are as follows:

Where are you going to Grendel*, my son?
Where are you going to my handsome young one?
I’m going a-courting, mother.

*Not sure what the name is that he says here, but it sounds like Grendel

Anyone here know the name of that song? Or at least can anyone use their superior google-fu to find a title?

2

Lord Randall?

3

Definitely “Lord Randall.”

AMFAS also plays on the traditional (but unsubstantiated) attribution of “Greensleeves” to Henry VIII.

4

The music doesn’t sound familiar. It may be an original composition by Georges Delerue, who composed the score, using a version of the Lord Randall text.

Edited to add: No, I’m wrong. It’s a variation on the traditional music. Here’s a recording – it’s not quite the same melody but it’s close.

5

Thanks for the help! I have to say, after reading the full lyrics of the song it seems like an odd choice for singing at a wedding.

How does it play on that? Are you referring to the fact that Henry is singing “Lord Randall” to Anne (playing off the story that he wrote “Greensleevs” for Anne Boleyn)? Or is there something else in the movie that I have missed?

6

From the play:

The text does not specify the music, but in the movie they were playing “Greensleeves.”

7

No, the music at that point is definitely not Greensleeves. I have no idea what it is, though.