The Dove | A song by Judy Collins, 1963
Judy Collins, Appearance on ABC’s Hootenanny, 1963
The dove she is a pretty bird, she sings as she flies
She brings us glad tidings and tells us no lies
She drinks the spring waters to make her voice clear
When her nest she is building and summer is near
Come all you young fellows take warning by me
Don’t go for a soldier, don’t join no army
For the dove she will leave you, the raven will come
And death will come marching at the beat of a drum
Come all you pretty fair maids, come walk in the sun
And don’t let your young man ever carry a gun
For the gun, it will scare her, and she’ll fly away
And then there’ll be weeping by night and by day
The dove she is a pretty bird, she sings as she flies
She brings us glad tidings and tells us no lies
She drinks the spring waters to make her voice clear
When her nest she is building and summer is near
Written by Ewan MacColl
Judy Collins – The Dove – 1963
The song is also known as a traditional folk song, and versions are performed by many artists. The lyrics advise against joining the army, warning that a soldier’s life will lead to weeping and death, using the symbol of a dove.
