Love Alone
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Calypso ballad
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
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Lyrics:
Chorus:
It's love and love alone
That caused King Edward to leave the throne,
It's love, it's love, it's love alone
That caused King Edward to leave the throne.
I know King Edward was noble and great
But It's love what caused him to abdicate.
Chorus
I know my mama she gonna grieve,
He said "I cannot help it but I'm bound to leave."
Chorus
He got the money and he got the talk,
And the fancy walk just to suit New York.
Chorus
You can take me throne, you can take me crown,
But leave me Miss Simpson to renown.
Chorus
Come a reel come a roll upon my mind,
I cannot leave Mrs. Simpson behind.
Chorus
If a plane and a ship don't carry me free,
I'll walk with Miss Simpson across the sea.
Chorus
On the tenth of December you heard the talk,
When he gave the throne to the Duke of York.
Chorus
Then Baldwin want to break down his stand,
He said,"I'm giving up with my government!"
Chorus
Now he's the victim of circumstance,
Now they live in the south of France.
Chorus
If you see Mrs. Simpson across the street
You can guarantee she is a busy bee.
Chorus
Let the organ roll, let the church bell ring,
He said, "Good luck" to our second bachelor King.
Chorus
"Love Alone" is a calypso ballad about the abdication of British King Edward VIII,<br> who was crowned on January 20, 1936 and abdicated on December 11, 1936.<br> During his short reign, he caused a constitutional crisis by seeking to marry<br> Wallis Simpson, a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands.<br> Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin informed Edward that his subjects would deem the<br> marriage morally unacceptable, largely because remarriage after divorce was<br> opposed by the Church of England and the people would not tolerate Simpson as<br> queen. As king, Edward was the titular head of the Church of England and the<br> clergy expected him to support the Church's teachings. Edward informed Baldwin<br> that he would abdicate if he could not marry Simpson. He remains a<br> controversial figure, but many find him sympathetic because he abdicated for<br> love. <br> Edward had visited Trinidad as Prince of Wales and the press there followed his<br> story closely. Soon after the abdication, in February 1937, Lord Caresser<br> recorded the first version of "Edward VIII" or "Love Alone," which became an<br> instant calypso hit. The melody was taken from an old-time kalenda, or stick<br> fighting chant. The lyric was later used as the centerpiece for a calypso drama<br> at the Village Vanguard, New York. The song remained popular for years. Alan<br> Lomax recorded Gerald Clark and his Invaders, including The Duke of Iron, Lord<br> Invader and Macbeth the Great, performing the song at Town Hall, New York, in<br> December 1946, just a few days after the tenth anniversary of the abdication.<br> I learned this from a paperback book of folk songs that I found in the mid 1960's<br> folk boom. The book has since been lost but I still remember the song.<br>
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