“The Turtle Dove” is a timeless folk song with origins tracing back to the 18th century, beautifully reimagined by Ralph Vaughan Williams in the early 1900s. In my latest rendition, performed live at Austin’s Ale House in Kew Gardens, Queens, NY, I have infused this classic with a robust, modern twist while preserving its heartfelt folk essence. This song is deeply rooted in England’s folk tradition, carrying immense historical significance. It narrates a tale of love and yearning, reflecting the emotions and struggles that people have faced over the ages. Passed down through generations, it stands as a testament to music’s timeless ability to express the depths of human emotion.
In my performance I tried to blend the traditional with a modern vigor, trying to breathe new life into the classic, showing the passion that I’ve always felt in this song, while honoring its historical significance.
In my performance I tried to blend the traditional with a modern vigor, trying to breathe new life into the classic, showing the passion that I’ve always felt in this song, while honoring its historical significance.
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MusicTranscript
00:00written about 200 years later by Vaughn Williams around 1924 and slightly rewritten by me recently.
00:10And it's a very melodic piece and I tried to update it sort of in the vein of House
00:22of the Rising Sun, which if anybody ever heard the original version sounds nothing like the
00:26original.
00:34So it's sort of like the original.
00:36Well you will my dear, I must be gone soon, and leave you for a while.
00:48If I roll away I'll come back here again.
00:54If I roll 10,000 miles my dear, if I roll 10,000 miles,
01:04so far I will walk my bonnie, bonnie lass,
01:08so deep in love am I.
01:12But I never will prove false to the bonnie lass I love,
01:20till the stars fall from the sky my dear,
01:26till the stars fall from the sky.
01:32Now you will my dear, I must be gone, and leave you for a while.
01:42If I roll away I'll come back here.
01:48If I roll 10,000 miles my dear, if I roll 10,000 miles,
01:58the sea will never wash dry my dear, the rocks fell with the sun.
02:04But I never will prove false, my dear, to the bonnie, bonnie lass I love.
02:12For sake and because, that lonely turtledove,
02:16as he moans from afar on my tree,
02:22as he moans and he calls for the loss of his love,
02:28as I will do for thee my dear, as I will do for thee.
02:38Now you will my dear, I must be gone, and leave you for a while.
02:48If I roll away I'll come back here.
02:54If I roll 10,000 miles my dear, if I roll 10,000 miles,
03:04the sea will never wash dry my dear, the rocks fell with the sun.
03:10But I never will prove false, my dear, to the bonnie, bonnie lass I love.
03:16For all these things to be done my dear, for all these things to be done.