Fare Thee Well (Traditional) [Live]

from Up from the Vaults: a Retrospective by Reuben Walton

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I performed this song live in the Music room at Sturgis Charter Public School in Hyannis, MA, at Open Mic Night on Friday 5/22/2009. There is distortion every time I sing that high note, not due to my mouth being too close to the mic, but rather due to recording quality and compression difficulties. I had my MacBook on a table in the back of the room recording the event on GarageBand. Fare Thee Well (or "Ten Thousand Miles") is an 18th-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 Nic Jones, as well as by Mary Black, Jason Molina, Eliza Carthy, Joan Baez and Mary Chapin Carpenter. This song was written by Robert Burns (1759-1796) and Unknown. The lyrics in that Wikipedia article are somewhat different from those I sing. In addition, both the lyrics I sing in this recording, and those in the Wikipedia article, bear a strong resemblance to another Robert Burns song "My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose" published in the Scots language by Robert Burns in 1794. This is, of course, not accounting for even more minute differences in the linking articles used, such as how in my recording I sing "no you'll not hear my mourn", and in Joan Baez's version she says "and" instead of "no" in that same spot. Her version also includes a fourth verse that includes the lyrics about the seas running dry or ganging dry, and rocks melting with the sun, lyrical imagery which is also in "My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose", which I sang in Choir during my freshman year of high school at Falmouth High School (2005-2006) in Falmouth, MA, 02540, United States, directed by Fred Johnson. Again, the distortion heard in the recording is not due to me being too close to the mic, but rather due to recording, level, and compression difficulties. I am not sure if I had turned on "automatic level control" in the "Track Info" setting in GarageBand prior to recording. The track artwork is a picture of Me taken with my MacBook's built-in camera around the time that I graduated from high school at Sturgis Charter Public School in June 2009, with my hair styled in a way that of course was me trying to look like a scene kid/hipster. It didn't naturally look like that--I had painstakingly combed it and wetted it and got what I thought was just the right angle and look. I decided to cover this song after hearing a beautiful rendition of it by The Innocence Mission on their 2000 EP Christ Is My Hope. This song was originally uploaded to my SoundClick music page at www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=541671&content=music on Saturday 6/20/2009.

lyrics

Oh fare thee well, I must be gone
and leave you for a while,
wherever I go, I will return
if I go ten thousand miles

If I go
If I go
If I go ten thousand miles

Oh ten thousand miles, it is so far
to leave me here alone,
while I may lie, lament and cry,
and you'll
you'll not hear my mourn

and you'll
no you'll
no you'll not hear my mourn

The crow that is so black, my Lord,
will change his color white,
if ever I should prove false to Thee,
the day will turn to night

yes the day
yes the day
yes the day will turn to night

credits

from Up from the Vaults: a Retrospective, released February 19, 2011
Vocals by Reuben Walton
Vocal production by Reuben Walton
Lyrics by Robert Burns
Guitar by Reuben Walton
Composed by Robert Burns
Programming by Reuben Walton
Produced by Reuben Walton
Recorded by Reuben Walton
Mixed by Reuben Walton
Edited by Reuben Walton
Track artwork by Reuben Walton

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Reuben Walton Falmouth, Massachusetts

Reuben Walton is a singer/songwriter and music producer based in Falmouth, MA. He is a graduate of Musicians Institute in Hollywood's Independent Artist program and their Electronic Music Production program, as well as UMass Lowell’s Music Business undergraduate program.
In 2019 he put out a self-titled EP working with producer AVLI Music and is now regularly releasing new music. ... more

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