THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Thee White Gates
Dorking

[?June 1942]

Dear Harold
At last I’ve polished off the film stuff and have got down to our song.¹
I’m going to be a fearful nuisance but I want to revert to the original version of the tune – which means that I shall revert to our original penulatime penultimate line in vv.1 & 3 – The difficulty was over v.2.  Would you be horrified if we added a word (say “then”)  at the beginning of the penultimate line of v.2?  That would make the metre all right for the tune.
I fear I also want to reject one or two other alterations.
v.2  I prefer your original & with your leave I will keep it.
(If you want your second version the words “we are” is a difficulty tough though it can be got over.  I don’t like “we’re” though curiously I do not object to “we’ve”.
In v.3 could we alter “almighty” – it sounds hymnal – I don’t want this to be sung as a hymn do you?  Would a word like “transcendent” do?
In l.2 I prefer “this new world” in the last line but one could we say proclaims to all the world – we’ve had “o’er” once already.  I write out the words as I should like them – but of course I am in your hands over it – they are your words & you will have to father them!
I return you both your copies in case you have not kept one.²
Yrs
RVW
PTO

1.  ‘See where the beacon’.
2.  MS Mus. 1714/2/4, ff.140-144 comprise the two versions of the text.