I Live Not Where I Love Lyrics
Mary BlackMusic Video
I Live Not Where I Love
O 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 o'er fixed in your breast
But although 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 should prove false to my jewel
Or any way his love deny
Oh the world shall change
And be most 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 lassies
Now I think I've made my choice
I will away to yonder mountain
Where I think I hear his voice
And if he hollows I will follow
Around the world though it is so wide
For young Thomas he did promise
I should be his lawful bride
So 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
Song Details
🎶 Songwriter: Traditional English Folk Song - pre 1845.
📝 Song Brief:
A tender ballad of love from afar, “I Live Not Where I Love” tells the story of a woman devoted to her beloved Thomas, though distance keeps them apart. Awake, she thinks of him constantly; asleep, she dreams of him. Her heart remains true, holding fast to the hope that one day they will be reunited and able to share their lives together.
- swain — A poetic term for a male lover or admirer. Common in older English and folk songs.
- o'er — over
🎻 Genre: Folk Song / Ballad
👥 Covers/Albums:
Finbar & Eddie Furey (I Live Not Where I Love)
Mady Prior & Tim Hart (Celtic Love Songs)
Steeleye Span (Live at a Distance)
Simon Nicol (Before your time...)
Karen Mal (Dark-Eyed Sailor)
Deirdre Starr (The Tree Below the Road).
🎤 Featured Artist: Mary Black
💿 Album: Collected
Released: 1984
Country: Ireland
Format: CD
Label: Dara Records
Other Songs featuring Mary Black on this site:
- Anachie Gordon — A tragic ballad of devotion and loss.
- Bright Blue Rose — A contemporary folk song filled with spiritual imagery.
- Mo Ghile Mear — A powerful lament in the style of a Jacobite song.
- Song For Ireland — A modern classic celebrating Ireland’s landscape, culture, and spirit.
- Your Love — A warm, intimate song about comfort, trust, and emotional connection.
