Under Greenery like Scenery

'Early in the morning' is the kind of title you might expect from an English folksong, but it's also the title of the best-known song by the great American classical songwriter  Ned Rorem (b. 1923). I would love you to take a listen to this delightful work (written in 1954), as it's one of Rorem's loveliest pieces. It couldn't be further in spirit from English folksong!

It's a setting of the American poet Robert Hillyer:

Early in the morning 
On a lovely summer day
As they lowered the bright awning
At the outdoor cafe 
I was breakfasting on croissants and cafe au lait
Under greenery like scenery,

Rue Francois Premier 

They were hosing the hot pavement 

With a dash of flashing spray 

And a smell of summer showers 

When the dust is drenched away 

Under greenery like scenery, 

Rue Francois Premier 

I was twenty and a lover 

And in paradise to stay 

Very early in the morning 

Of a lovely summer day.

Ned Rorem was influenced by Francis Poulenc, and that entirely benign influence is clearly heard in Early in the Morning. It's also to be heard in instrumental works, such as the pleasing Sinfonia for winds (and optional other instruments).