Josephine Cameron: Music

• MP3 short clip, hi-fi play (broadband)
• MP3 short clip, lo-fi play (modem)

I heard this traditional lullaby on a Judy Collins album less than a year ago, and instantly I wanted to record it for this album (I also found a version by the Mariners that is fun, but certainly more of a novelty piece.) The simplicity of the melody and the innocent melancholy of the lyrics are intensely touching. This song, as you probably have guessed, was later watered down and transformed into the familiar sing-song rhyme we've all heard: I see the moon and the moon sees me, God bless the moon and God bless me. Like a lot of fairy tales that were changed to downplay violence and intensity, this original version of the lullaby contains a sadness and depth that did not translate to the new rhyme.

I see the moon and the moon sees me
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love

I hear a lark and the lark hears me
Singing a song with a melody
Please let the lark that sings for me
Sing for the one I love

Over the mountain, over the sea
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love

I kiss a rose and the rose kisses me
Fragrant as only a rose can be
Please let the rose that comforts me
Comfort the one I love

Over the mountain, over the sea
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love