| Arranger: Adrian Bell | Cello with Piano accompaniment | Tempo: Slow | Duration: 3:30 minutes |
| Key: D Major | Intermediate | Irish air | Year: 1808 |
Irish poet Thomas More (1779-1852) set his lyric Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms to a traditional Irish air thought to known to harpers from the middle of the 18th century. However, the tune also resembles an English air, My Lodging is on the cold Ground. This is More’s poem:
I.
Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly to-day,
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy-gifts fading away,—
Thou wouldst still be ador’d as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will;
And, around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still!
II.
It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofan’d by a tear,
That the fervour and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear!
Oh! the heart, that has truly lov’d, never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close;
As the sun-flower turns on her god, when he sets,
The same look which she turn’d when he rose!
The D Major melody sits easily on the cello in first position using open strings. But for added colour and warmth, I’ve moved some notes to the third string and included an harmonic. The second verse exploits the higher register. Just as the tune plays well enough in first position, a simple transposition will let you play it an octave higher in thumb position—with thumb replacing open D and A strings. This is a beneficial way to practise Believe Me. Indeed, many melodies, especially in D Major or minor, can transpose similarly. In the end I felt the beautiful melodic line for the second verse will sing best on the A string. As always with any song, playing with the lyric in mind will deliver the most meaningful interpretation.
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