Dorset dialect or standard English — which variant of Linden Lea is more mellifluous?

Photo by Peter Burdon on Unsplash — Bradbury Rings, Dorset, UK

Yesterday I listened to a song put to music by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams[1], namely Linden Lea**[2]**. I’ve always heard the version where the song based on the source poem is sung in standard English.

This sung version of the poem is very pleasant to listen to. I had not realised before yesterday that the source poem was first written in the Dorset dialect by a poet named William Barnes (1801–1886). I have not been able to establish whether or not William Barnes provided the standard English transcription of Linden Lea. He also wrote poems in common English — his work was not limited to its Dorset form.

The Dorset rendition was the one which first saw light of day though. It was not simply entitled Linden Lea but My Orcha’d in Lindèn Lea**[3]**. I cannot find the Dorset original in a sung format. I did locate a YouTube video where the poem is recited in the Dorset accent.[4]

William Barnes sounds to have been a very interesting person — his life is worth delving[5] into with a deep dive.[6] According to the wisdom of Wikipedia Mr Barnes “was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a comprehensive English grammar quoting from more than 70 different languages”. He favoured the use of English words which were of Anglo-Saxon origin over words which were borrowed from foreign languages. That did not prevent William Barnes from having an interest in a number of other languages (see the Wikipedia entry linked at footnote 6 if you fancy delving more deeply down).

Let’s look at the first verse of Lindon Lea in both standard English and Dorset English. Here follows the non-dialect version:-

“Within the woodland flow’ry gladed By the oak tree’s mossy moot The shining grass blade timber shaded Now do quiver underfoot And birds do whistle overhead And water’s bubbling in its bed And there for me the apple tree Do lean down low, in Linden Lea”.

Now comes the Dorset version of verse one:-

“‘Ithin the woodlands, flow’ry gleäded, By the woak tree’s mossy moot, The sheenèn grass-bleädes, timber sheäded, Now do quiver under voot; An’ birds do whissle auver head, An’ water’s bubblèn in its bed, An’ there vor me the apple tree Do leän down low in Linden Lea.”

For myself, I feel both formats have their good points. The standard English version makes the poem accessible to people whose ears might not be attuned to a Dorset dialect and therefore to a wider audience. The music by R Vaughan Williams is soothing to hear. Then again, the Dorset original has a charm of its own, a magical and whimsical quality. What do you think, dear readers? Maybe, could you, like me find space in your heart for both?

[1] Ralph Vaughan Williams — Linden Lea — YouTube The link is to a version where it is sung by the choir of New College Oxford — video uploaded by Jonny M on September 9, 2009.

[2] Here is a link to the words in standard English. Linden Lea | Song Texts, Lyrics & Translations | Oxford Song

[3] Link to the Dorset version of the poem. Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect/My Orcha’d in Lindèn Lea — Wikisource, the free online library

[4] Link to spoken rendition of the poem in Dorset dialect. “Linden Lea” by William Barnes Poem animation — YouTube “ “Linden Lea” by William Barnes Poem animation” uploaded by poetryreincarnations on April 1, 2013 — “All rights are reserved on this video recording copyright Jim Clark 2013”

[5] I am determined to keep using the word “delve” despite being told it’s an indication of the use of AI. I must admit the pairing of words “deep dive” has become somewhat hackneyed — but it is alliterative and I have been writing about a poem.

[6] William Barnes — Wikipedia Link to Wikipedia article about William Barnes the poet.