Tune Req: Real love songs?

Subject: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,Tessa
Date: 10 May 05 - 04:48 PM

Hi people,

I'm a South African folk-freak, currently concentrating on Irish & Scottish songs. Are there any songs out there about real love, minus betrayal, death, tragedy, unrequieted love or other dark themes?

About the closest I can get to is The Unquiet Grave which is not close...

Thanks for any suggestions.

Regards
Tessa

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: Snuffy
Date: 11 May 05 - 08:20 AM

My Love is like a red red rose
Believe me if all those endearing young charms
Eriskay love lilt

That sort of thing?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 May 05 - 01:00 PM

Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows

There must be others...mustn't there?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,Tessa
Date: 11 May 05 - 01:10 PM

Thanks people... on it.

leeneia, I am certain there are. BUT finding them is a verse of a different sort, no?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,Tessa
Date: 11 May 05 - 04:07 PM

Well, Snuffy, you've certainly sent me on a journey. Exactly what I asked for... sort of.

My love is like a red red rose is the kind of feel I'm looking for. But without the "I'm leaving you now but will be faithful". My cousin's getting married and I'm looking for good-luck songs for the ceremony.

By the way, my line's about 40Kbps, and the call is expensive, so I'm a real baby at this. :-( If I am rude, please accept my apologies, and if you gently let me know, I'll take the lessons gladly!

Thank you for the suggestions!
Tessa

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: Ron Davies
Date: 11 May 05 - 10:06 PM

It's hard to know what songs are in the category of "overdone", especially since the list would vary depending on which side of the pond you live.

But speaking from the west side of the pond, 3 songs which might fit your wishes, and have the advantage of being wonderful songs, totally positive about romance, yet not saccharine, are:

Rose of Allendale (which appears to not be either Scottish or Irish, but is strongly associated (over here anyway) with Mary Black

Rose of Tralee--definitely not overexposed (but on Digitrad)

Star of the County Down (also on Digitrad)

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: Blissfully Ignorant
Date: 11 May 05 - 11:03 PM

My love is like a red red rose was written for a dead lover i believe:)

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: Ron Davies
Date: 11 May 05 - 11:19 PM

Rose of Tralee, I believe, was also written for a dead lover---but they're still both wonderful songs--and at least in Rose of Tralee the lover in the song itself is very much alive.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: Blissfully Ignorant
Date: 11 May 05 - 11:25 PM

Oh, i wasn't saying it's not a beautiful song. It's one of the most beautiful songs around, IMO :)

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: mack/misophist
Date: 12 May 05 - 01:01 AM

"The Queen of Argyll" might do. It's full of praise which could pass for love.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: sixtieschick
Date: 12 May 05 - 01:10 AM

"Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair" might be in the running. A discussion if its origins is on this thread:

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=32248

Anyway, it's a beautiful love song.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 12 May 05 - 09:11 AM

Try this version of Red is the Rose.

Come o-ver the hill-side, my bon-ny, bon-ny lass. Come o-ver the hills to your dar-lin'. You choose the road, love, and I'll make the vow, And I'll be your true love for-ev-er.

_ Red is the rose that in yon-der gar-den grows. _ White is the lily of the val-ley. Sweet are the blos-soms that scent'the ear-ly morn, but my love is fair-er than an-y.

By yon-der green mea-dow and through the wood we strayed, while'the larks and the doves sang to-ge-ther. The dark ra-vens soared far'a-bove'the dis-tant trees, but'she vowed to be my love for-ev-er.

Repeat v 1.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: RobbieWilson
Date: 12 May 05 - 09:38 AM

Burns' song of enduring love John Anderson my jo and similar but from his perspective Eric Bogle's Belle of Broughton

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 12 May 05 - 11:29 AM

Tessa, are you looking for song or songs not just about love but directed to the loved one, declaring love or asking for love, or praising the loved one? That's how I sort of read your request.

My favorite love song (non-death, non-unrequited, etc.) is Robert Burns's Bonnie Wee Thing. Gorgeous! And not heavily freighted with Scots dialect, which in some circumstances could be a problem.

Besides its beauty, one reason it's my favorite is that it helped me catch my Beautiful Wife, 42 years ago. To this day, she won't let me sing it in public, because she feels it's personal (in my mouth); it belongs to her alone.

There's lots more wonderful love songs in the works of Robert Burns.
You might not want John Anderson, My Jo because it deals in part with old age. Come to think of it, I don't know of a sung version of that one, so maybe it's no help in your search for love songs in any case. But it absolutely is a love poem to end all love poems--and maybe song.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,Sidewinder.
Date: 12 May 05 - 12:57 PM

Songs that spring to mind are;

1)Maggie
2)When you were sweet 16
3)Bunch of Thyme
4)I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen
5)Donald Where's Your Troosers? (I was getting a little soppy so I had to straighten myself out at this point).
Made me laugh anyway!

Regards.

Sidewinder.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 12 May 05 - 01:18 PM

Jean Ritchie sings this one:

Somebody's tall and handsome;
Somebody's fond and true;
Somebody's hair is very dark,
And somebody's eyes are blue.

Somebody called to see me --
Somebody came last night.
Somebody asked me to be his bride;
Of course, I said alright.

I love somebody fondly;
I love somebody true;
I love somebody with all my heart.
He loves somebody, too.

I am somebody's darlin'.
I am somebody's pride.
The day is not far distance
When I'll be somebody's bride.

I sang this one at my oldest son's wedding reception. The response was many warm smiles, and hugs from his new in-laws.    Tw

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 12 May 05 - 01:26 PM

Jackaroe/Jack Monroe - disguises herself as a sailor and rescues her wounded lover

Sovay - tested lover song - She disguises her self as a bandit and tries to take the ring she gave him. he refuses.

Bailif of Islington's daughter - another test song. she dresses herself as a beggar and reports her own death. he responds nobly.

4th Street/Silk merchant's daugher - lovers are shipwrecked and he agress to die in her place when the survivors opt for cannibalism.

Mantle so Green - another test. returned soldier disguises himself and asks his girlfriend to marry him. she refuses.

John Riley - same theme as mantle so green.

Carolina Lady/Lady from Carlisle - she puts two suitors to test. one passes by risking his life to retrieve a fan.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 12 May 05 - 01:45 PM

Was I right in my reading of Tessa's request? Was she asking for songs which were in themselves making love, as it were? Or songs about love or about love or romance?   

Another good direct-to-the-loved-one Burns song is Tibbie Dunbar

If it's the latter interpretation, the whole thing becomes a lot easier. Since I talked in a previous post about the songs of Robert Burns, in songs about love or romance or the like we have:

The Rigs o' Barley
The Lass of Ballochmyle

or possibly

Sweet Afton

All of the above are poems I came across in a "complete works" of Robert Burns, which I recognize to be songs. More of his love poems undoubtedly would be songs too, which I don't happen to know of or which I didn't happen on in a rapid scan of the book.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,Tessa
Date: 12 May 05 - 04:43 PM

Hi people,

Thank you so much. I'm gonna be busy for WEEKS. Yay!

Yes I was talking about the romace kind of love-song, but hey, at a wedding making love will do at a pinch. Sorry, couldnt resist.

Dave Oesterreich, John Anderson My Jo was sung by the Silly Sisters in their album No More To The Dance. And by Sileas (sp?) but with entirely other words. Not quite the wedding song, at least not until the couple are out of hearing and everyone else is entirely drunk. If I scan a dictation of it I can send you a jpeg, but it will be score only, I don't know tablature or any other kind notation.

Everyone else, thank you thank you thank you! Now I almost wish I was unemployed again so I have more time for this. Gone are the days of hours singing to the vaccum cleaner, I work for a bitch of a boss. Me.
:-)

Thank you!

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Real love songs?
From: GUEST,Tessa
Date: 13 May 05 - 08:56 AM

Sorry... don't know what I was thinking last night but it was gone 1 AM:-) The Silly Sisters did not do John Anderson on No More To The Dance, still a great album though and the offer still stands!

LAter