Friday, January 16, 2009

Waitin' For My Dearie -- A Maiden's Manifesto


While I'm not a huge fan of the musical Brigadoon, starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse, I was delighted to discover a musical gem hiding in the heather, as you might say! I think I can safely say that this is the closest any song has come to epitomizing the idea of waiting for the "right one." Which is why I consider this song a "maiden's manifesto" of sorts.

You can hear a sound clip here on Amazon.com -- the soundtrack has the only good musical version of this song that I've heard!

Waitin’ For My Dearie

Fiona:
Many a lassie as ev'ryone knows'll
Try to be married before twenty-five.
So she'll agree to most any proposal.
All he mus' be is a man, an' alive.

I hold a dream an' there's no compromisin'
I know there's one certain laddie for me.
One day he'll come walkin' o'er the horizon:
But should he not, then an old maid I'll be.
Foolish, ye may say.
Foolish I will stay.

Waitin' for my dearie, an' happy am I
to hold my heart till he comes strollin' by.
When he comes, my dearie, one look an' I'll know
That he's the dearie I've been wantin' so.

Though I'll live forty lives till the day he arrives,
I'll not ever, ever grieve.
For my hopes will be high that he'll come strollin' by;
For ye see, I believe

That there's a laddie weary, and wanderin' free,
Who's waitin' for his dearie:
Me!

1st Girl:
What do ye do while ye're waitin' around
For your lad to come your way?

Fiona:
Well, when no one is lookin', ye kneel on the ground,
An' ye pray an' pray an' pray!

2nd Girl:
But when lassies sit an' have no men,
Oh, how long becomes the night.

Fiona:
But I fear the night is longer when the lad's no' right.

Waitin' for my dearie is sweeter to me
Than wooin' any laddie on the lea.

Girls:
Dreamin' of your dearie, an' idlin' the day

Fiona:
That's how I am an' how I'll ever stay.

Though I'll live forty lives till the day he arrives,
I'll not ever, ever grieve.
For my hopes will be high that he'll come strollin' by;
For ye see, I believe

Fiona and Girls:
That there's a laddie weary, an' wanderin' free,
who's waitin' for his dearie:

Fiona:
Me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Perhaps the only thing that I disagree with is "idlin' the day" while waiting, which doesn't seem like a very good policy! *smile* But I think I can manage disagreeing with three words out of three hundred -- especially when those three hundred are so good!

7 comments:

  1. I love this song! I am not a big fan of Brigadoon myself (but my mom is). This song just makes me feel content though with where God has me in my life at this time. Yes, I do get discouraged because I feel like maybe there isn't someone for me, that he will never come. But then I remember that God loves me and I think he has prepared me for marriage even before I new that is what I wanted! So, here I will sit (not idling my time *wink*) waiting till he comes! =:)

    If God can give me such gifts as the new friends I have found from the blogging world and from other Christian sites, then he can give me such a precious gift as a future family! Right? =;)

    I hope you all have a blessed day!
    Rachel

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  2. I always wondered where that came from! I have to agree, all but those three words are wonderful. Now, I have to check out Brigadoon.

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  3. This made me smile. =)

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  4. I've enjoyed this song since I found it on a blog last year.There are some good points in the lyrics.

    Another good song about waiting is Wait for Me by Rebecca St James.

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  5. What a great song! Thanks for sharing it and it's great message!

    Alex

    p.s. I found your blog through Cheri's and I loved reading through some of your posts, you are amazing! And how cool that you went to England... I went a couple of years ago... and I would love to go back someday!! Have a great day!

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  6. That's such a coincidence - the other day I was reading this song out of a music book and playing it on the piano, and thinking how I liked it and ought to learn to sing it! And I had exactly the same idea about "idlin' the day," too. :)

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  7. Almost irrelevant, but: I much prefer the stage version of Brigadoon over the movie.

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