We’ve loved this song for many years, but only yesterday realized that Red is the Rose is based on the melody of Loch Loman.
Red is the Rose
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows,
And fair is the lily of the valley;
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
But my love is fairer than any.
Come over the hills, my bonny Irish lass
Comer over the hills to your darling;
You choose the rose, love, and I'll make the vow
And I'll be your true love forever.
'Twas down by Killarney's green woods that we strayed
And the moon and the stars they were shining;
The moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
And she swore she'd be my love forever.
It's not for the parting that my sister pains
It's not for the grief of my mother,
"Tis all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass
That my heart is breaking forever.
Author:
Words:Tommy Makem
Melody Loch Loman R. Burns
This song can evoke so many moods: youthful exuberance and longing, regret, grief. Elder G helps us visualize these many imaginings.
Youthful Exuberance
The Sorrowing Bride of Being
She just understood the weight of human finitude. She holds a bouquet of red roses—lush, blood-rich, symbolic of passion and suffering—and at her feet lie scattered lilies of the valley, tiny white bells representing innocence she fears she has already lost.
Anguish in the Attic Room
A woman sits beside a small round window, staring at the dim horizon with the heavy, vacant look of someone contemplating the absurdity of existence. A single red rose lies across her lap; its petals have started to fall, like tiny drops of blood on her pale dress.
The wilted lilies of the valley—fragile white bells collapsing under their own sweetness.
The Last Love Letter Before the Void
The Man Who Waits for Answers That Never Come
The Wanderer in the Rose Garden of Regrets
The Day She Understood Mortality
