From the recording Christmas in the City (Digital 8-Track)
For this bonus track, we wanted a taste of something different that can be enjoyed outside the holiday season. This folk song was inspired by Queen Elizabeth I’s unrequited love for her favourite, Robert Dudley. It was originally performed at the Globe Theatre in May 2015 by the incomparable Janie Dee. We dedicate this track to her, with gratitude.
Lyrics
My heart has made a secret room
To hide my secret love
As I am made of two strange halves
The falcon and the dove
So fly, fly oh my heart
Across the narrow sea
The falcon keeps him safe
The dove will bring him home to me
My heart must bear a secret fear
That guards my reckless love
For any favoured glance
Is as a stain upon a glove
So hide, hide oh my heart
Behind a careful mask
And never dare to reach
To clasp the hand you cannot ask
My heart it has a secret hope
That kindles all my love
Though never joined on earth
I pray we’ll reunite above
So burn, burn secret hope
To see me through the years
To help me hide this secret love
And dry away my tears