Fare Thee Well (song)

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Fare Thee Well (or "Ten Thousand Miles") is an Eighteenth Century folk ballad, in which a lover bids farewell before setting off on a journey. The lyrics include a dialogue between the lovers. The first published version of the song appeared in 1710. The song has been recorded, most notably by Joan Baez, as well as by Jason Molina^{[citation needed]}, Eliza Carthy and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

[edit] Lyrics

Fare you well my own true love
And farewell for a while.
I’m going away, but I’ll be back
If I go ten thousand miles.
Ten thousand miles, my own true love,
Ten thousand miles or more,
And the rocks may melt and the seas may burn,
If I no more return.
Oh don’t you see that lonesome dove,
Sitting on yon ivy tree,
She’s weeping for her own true love
Just as I shall weep for mine.
Oh come back my own true love
And stay a while with me
For if I had a friend all on this earth,
You’ve been a friend to me.
And fare you well my own true love
And farewell for a while.
I’m going away, but I’ll be back
If I go ten thousand miles.