Origins: I Live Not Where I Love

Subject: RE: I live not where I love
From: nutty
Date: 20 Jun 02 - 07:06 PM

There are a number of broadsides of the song in the Bodleian Library.
The one below, circa 1820, is titled Young Thomas but the song also appears as The Constant Female as well as I Live Not Where I Love

CLICK HERE

Subject: RE: I live not where I love
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 20 Jun 02 - 04:25 PM

I had already recorded an "English Civil War" version given to me by the lady from whom Norma Waterson got "My Willie sailed on the tender/ Bay of Biscay" and believed to have been handed down orally in a garrison town in Ireland, when I found that it was actually a version written by Gregg Butler of Strawhead for a Civil War album which had somehow found its way onto a flyer sold at a fleadh before Strawhead had recorded it. It was still quite interesting to see what the folk process had done to the song - because we took the title of our CD (Dark the Day) from one line, and then discovered that the line had been changed from "through dark or day".

Heigh ho

Kitty

Subject: RE: I live not where I love
From: Jacob B
Date: 20 Jun 02 - 04:11 PM

Here's the text the guest was referring to. It's a bit too concise for me to follow.

You loyal Lovers that are distant/ ZN3048| The Constant Lover/
Tune: Shall the absence of my Mistresse/ [By] P. L./ RB1 213 = CR 1407: Henry Gosson [Entd. Jan. 8, 1638. ZB382|. [This and N1787| expand on verses by Robert Southwell commencing "Sith my life my love was nested" which Tho. Morley extracted from a longer poem and printed with a new tune in `First Book of Ayres', 1600. Repeated with Morley's tune in Forbes' 'Cantus', 1662, 1666, 1682. Tune in Simpson, BBBM, #212 is Morley's. Yet another version starts as Morley's 1st verse then has five new ones, in 'Bishop Percy Folio MS', II, p. 325. Traditional versions, (Roud ZR593|) of this are rarely very coherent; "Farewell Lads and farewell Lasses"/ Farewell Lads/ JFSS I, 273, 1904 is one, and another is in Frank Purslow's 'Marrow Bones', p. 43, as "I live not where I love".]

Subject: RE: I live not where I love
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Jun 02 - 03:46 PM

Not Henry VIII. For a concise history see ZN3048 in the broadside ballad index at www.erols.com/olsonw

Subject: I live not where I love
From: Arnie
Date: 20 Jun 02 - 03:28 PM

I have recently decided to try out the old song 'I live not where I love'. Got the words off the mudcat database but don't know anything about the origins, other than that it is very old. I'm sure someone once told me that it was penned by Henry VIII - though where he got the time in between divorcing/beheading/remarrying etc. I can't imagine. Is there any truth in his being the author?Any info much appreciated..

Subject: RE: Lyrics for 'Though I Live Not Where I Love'
From: Bruce O.
Date: 25 Mar 99 - 08:30 PM

I've put the above text, Peter Lowberry' broadside version of 1638 (Martin Parker's broadside has nothing to do with this song), and a good traditional version of "I live not where I love" (Lowberry's ballad) in the Scarce Songs 2 file on my website.

Subject: Lyr Add: I LIVE NOT WHERE I LOVE
From: Bruce O.
Date: 25 Mar 99 - 06:24 PM

[Correcting what I quoted from defective memory above, is this origin of "I live not where I love".]

[From Morley's 'First Book of Ayres', 1600. These are Robert Southwell's verses 5, 4, and 3 from "Marie Magdalens complaynte at Christes death", in 'Saint Peter's Complaint, With other Poems', 1595.]

With my loue my life was nestled,
In the some of happines,
From my loue my life was wrested,
To a world of heauines,
O let loue my life remoue,
Sith I liue not wher I loue.

Where the truth once was and is not,
Shadows are but vanities,
Shewing want that helpe they cannot,
Painted meate no hunger feedes,
Dying life each death exceedes.

O true loue since thou hast left me,
Mortall life is tedious,
Death it is to liue without thee,
Death of all most odious,
Turne againe and take me with thee,
Let me die, or liue thou in me.

Subject: RE: Lyrics for 'Though I Live Not Where I Love'
From: Bruce O.
Date: 24 Mar 99 - 09:43 PM

Jean Redpath's version, 1st in DT, is not a traditional version. A note on the 2nd in DT say the original was by Martin Parker, but Peter Lowberry also wrote an early version and it's hard to say which the traditional versions are descended from. The song started out a part of a poem on Virgin Mary, by Robert Southwell, about 1596, and Robert Morley set some verses of it to music in 1600. Morley's tune is that on my website among the broadside ballad tunes.

Subject: RE: Lyrics for 'Though I Live Not Where I Love'
From: Barbara
Date: 24 Mar 99 - 07:29 PM

Try the DT database. Just put [live not where] like that in brackets in the blue box upper right and it should come right up.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: Lyrics for 'Though I Live Not Where I Love'
From:
Date: 24 Mar 99 - 06:43 PM

A friend of mine is looking for the lyrics to the song that contains the words 'Though I Live Not Where I Love'. She thinks she heard it on a DeDannen album.

Any and all help will be appreciated.

Subject: RE: I live not where I love
From: anne....
Date: 07 Aug 98 - 05:17 PM

Mary Black also sings I live not where I love on the CD Mary Black Collected from Grapevine. Try Dara Records!!

Subject: RE: I live not where I love
From: Susan of DT
Date: 03 Aug 98 - 09:26 PM

I found two versions by searching for [not where I]

Subject: RE: I live not where I love
From: Bruce O.
Date: 03 Aug 98 - 06:25 PM

Jean Redpath also sings a version. The song originated in 1600. See notes at ZN1787 in the broadside ballad index on my website, where sources of 2 traditioaanl versions are also given. Three 17th century tunes are given as B212-4 in file BM2.

www.erols.com/olsonw

Subject: I live not where I love
From:
Date: 03 Aug 98 - 05:20 PM

Hello! Does anyone know where I might find the lyrics to "I live not where I love", which appeared on Tim Hart and Maddy Prior's Summer Solstice disc as well as a John Renbourn Ship of Fools CD. Thank you, Frank Carey [e-mail]