The Unquiet Grave
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"The Unquiet Grave" is an English folk song in which a young man mourns his dead love too hard and prevents her from obtaining peace. It is thought to date from 1400 and was collected in 1868 by Francis James Child, it is Child Ballad number 78. Joan Baez, The Dubliners, Ween, and Gryphon among others, have recorded versions of this song.
There are many different versions of this ballad, several of which are reproduced here.
The version noted by Cecil Sharp ends with "When will we meet again? / When the autumn leaves that fall from the trees / Are green and spring up again." This verse has several meanings: those particular leaves will never be "green and spring up again"; the next spring, those leaves will be replaced by other leaves (so this can be interpreted as saying "we will meet next spring, when you, too, will die"); and, at the same time it is a metaphor for the resurrection of the body.
