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I Live not Where I Love

from Role Call by Jan and Paul Ramsey

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about

This song, also known by several other names including “Come All You Maids”, is an Elizabethan madrigal printed in several broadsides2 in the 19th century. The language of the song has changed considerably since Elizabethan times. The song is a little unusual in that it is a pure love song and not a lament as is more typical for the period.

lyrics

Come all ye maids who live at a distance
Many's a mile from off your swain
Come and assist me this very moment
For to pass away some time


Singing sweetly and completely
Songs of pleasure and of love
For me heart is with him altogether
Though I live not where I love


When I sleep I dream about you
When I wake I take no rest
Every moment thinking on you
My heart is fixed in your breast


Though far distance may be of assistance if
from my mind your love remove
For me heart is with him altogether
Though I live not where I love


All the world shall be of one religion
All living things shall cease to die
If ever I prove false to my jewel
Or any way his love deny


The world shall change and be more strange
If from my mind your love remove
For me heart is with him altogether
Though I live not where I love


So farewell lads and farewell lasses
Now I think I've made my choice
I will away to yonder mountain
Where I think I hear his voice


If he beckons I will follow
Round the world that it is so wide
For young Thomas he did promise
I should be his lawful bride

credits

from Role Call, released January 11, 2023
Traditional

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about

Jan and Paul Ramsey image

Jan and Paul Ramsey Grimsby, UK

Jan and Paul first began singing together when they were students. Jan plays guitar and sings lead vocals, and Paul plays single reed harmonica and vocals. They are renowned for their close harmonies. Over the years they have performed extensively in the UK and overseas. They have held various residencies in UK folk clubs and are currently residents at Grimsby Folk Club. ... more

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