Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms

"Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms" sends a beautiful message of true and enduring love to a world so focused on transitory and surface beauty. The melody is a traditional Irish melody called "My Lodging, It Is In The Cold Ground." But there is a story behind the lyrics. In 1811, poet Thomas Moore married actress Elizabeth Dyke. While away on a trip to Bermuda, his wife contracted smallpox and her face was disfigured. She was so distraught that, upon his return, she stayed in her bedroom and would not allow him to see her. He went to his study and penned the poem that so convinced her of his undying love for who she was as a person, and not her outward appearance, that when he sang it for her outside her bedroom door, she opened the door to him and they remained united in marriage for the rest of their lives.

This ballad, in 3/4 meter, is simple in form, with two verses. A soloist begins with the choir joining in the B section. You may choose to perform the entire verse with the full choir. We've included that version for you on our web site. Verse one uses the traditional chord structure, accompanied by whistle, hammered dulcimer, violin, guitar, piano, and bass. The second verse adds strings and chord substitutions, as well as optional vocal parts 2 and 3. To help you teach these parts, we have isolated them and put them on our web site for free downloading.