will holt • trad
The summer of '67 gave me many good memories. Two of my aunts rented an old, shabby hut for the summer, close to a third aunt's small farm. Water from a narrow creek, toilet in the bushes or a widely scattered shack and a transistor radio I brought with me. This song was popular, and it etched into my brain. I'm not sure; too many years ago; but I believe that artist was Bobby Bare. It may have been Peter, Paul and Mary or The Seekers: they both had hits with it in the early sixties. But I have a vague memory of a haunted male vocal ...
However, the song is inspired by the traditional brazilian/portugese song "Meu Limão, Meu Limoeiro Silvio", made a hit by Caldas & Gidinho July 1937. American folk singer Will Holt adapted it with english lyrics and a few harmony tricks, and released it first in 1961 with his wife Dolly Jonah (Album "On The Brink") ... following singles from The Kingston Trio later in 1961, Peter, Paul and Mary 1962, The Seekers 1964, many others, and in 1965, Trini Lopez had the most successful version, going to the top of the charts in many countries.
Will Holt (1929–2015) was a rare plant in the early Greenwich Village bohemian arena, with his significant apparition: suit and tie, classic nylon string guitar presenting an unique playing style with harmonies folks never had heard before. He later became an interpreter of the music of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, and made several contributions to Broadway. Read more about him from the icon at the bottom.
when I was just a lad of ten my father said to me:
«come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree
don't put your faith in love my boy» my father said to me
«I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree»
:/: lemon tree : very pretty and the lemon flower sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat :/:
one day beneath the lemon tree my love and I did lie
a girl so sweet that when she smiled the stars rose in the sky
we past that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree
the music of her laughter hid my fathers words from me
one day she left without a word • she took away the sun
and in the dark she left behind I knew what she had done
she left me for another • it's a common tale but true
a sadder man but wiser now : I sing these words to you
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
A D6 F#m Dmaj7 D E7 A when I was just a lad of ten my father said to me A D6 F# Dmaj7 D E7 A come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree D Em Bm G Em7 A7 D don't put your faith in love my boy my father said to me D Em Bm G Em7 A7 D I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree D B7 A Asus4 A Asus4 E lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower sweet Bm E7 E6 E A but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat A A6 A A6 E lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower sweet Bm E7 E6 E A but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat
