| Now is the month of maying, When merry lads are playing, Fa la la la la la la, Each with his bonny lass, Upon the greeny grass, Fa la la la la la la. The Spring, clad all in gladness, Doth laugh at Winter′s sadness, Fa la la la la la la. | Jetzt ist der Monat Mai und die lustigen Jungs spielen, Fa la la la la la la, jeder mit seinem hübschen Mädchen, im grünen Gras, Fa la la la la la la. Der Frühling, ganz in Fröhlichkeit gekleidet, lacht über die Traurigkeit des Winters, Fa la la la la la la. |
| And to the wanton instrument, They went to and fro, both, And finely flaunted it And then they met again And thus they chanted it Fa la la la la. | Und zu dem übermütigen Instrument, tanzten sie beide hin und her, und stellten es fein zur Schau und dann trafen sie sich wieder und dann sangen sie: Fa la la la la. |
| And to the bagpipe′s sound, The nymphs tread out their ground, Fa la la la la la la. Fie then! why sit we musing, Youth’s sweet delight refusing? Fa la la la la la la, Say, dainty nymphs, and speak, Shall we play at barley-break? Fa la la la la la la. | Und zum Klang des Dudelsacks, Treten die Nymphen ihren Tanzboden aus, Fa la la la la la la. Pfui! Warum sitzen wir und sinnieren, der Jugend süße Wonne verweigernd? Fa la la la la la la, Sagt, zierliche Nymphen, und sprecht, sollen wir Barley-Break* spielen? Fa la la la la la la. |
Aus der englischen Wikipedia zum Thema „Barley-Break“:
Barley-Break is an old English country game frequently mentioned by the poets of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was played by three pairs, each composed of a man and a woman, who were stationed in three bases or plots, contiguous to each other. The couple occupying the middle base, called hell or prison, endeavoured to catch the other two, who, when chased, might break to avoid being caught. If one was overtaken, he and his companion were condemned to hell. From this game was taken the expression „the last couple in hell“, often used in old plays. Its use in literature usually has sexual connotations. The best known example is in Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s play The Changeling, in which an adulterer tells his cuckold „I coupled with your mate at barley-break; now we are left in hell“. The use of the phrase in Thomas Morley’s ballett „Now Is the Month of Maying“ probably means something similar to the idiom „roll in the hay“.