“RAMONA, I HEAR THE MISSION-BELLS ABOVE
RAMONA, THEY’RE RINGING OUT THEIR SONG OF LOVE
I’LL.PRESS YOU, CARESS YOU
AND BLESS THE DAY YOU TAUGHT ME TO CARE
I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER
THAT RAMBLING ROSE YOU WEAR IN YOUR HAIR
RAMONA, WHEN DAY IS DONE YOU’LL HEAR MY CALL
RAMONA, WE’LL MEET BESIDE THE WATERFALL
I’LL DREAD THE DAWN,
WHEN I AWAKE, TO FIND YOU GONE
RAMONA, I NEED YOU, I DO”
A.beautiful “old song”, written in 1928 by L.Wolfe Gilbert with music by Mabel Wayne. Above is only the “chorus” as was recorded initially by Jim Reeves & later by Rudy & Riem de Wolfe, for the “Philips Lable”.
I did not have the honour of meeting Jim, personally, but I did.meet “The Blue Diamonds”, Rudy & Riem de Wolfe when they came to Ceylon, shortly before I left for Australia. They were great guys, both of them, good looking young blokes from Indonesia, guitar-playing, harmony-singing brothers, a-la The Everly-Bros., & as the “rep” for Philips in Ceylon at the time, I was very proud to be the “support-act” for the “Diamonds”. It was a different World then. Here they were, the brilliant “Blue Diamonds” singing a song that was composed just about eighteen years after my own DAD was born, & these were very young guys.
Rudy de Wolfe passed away in the year 2000. He was the older.brother. Now, we just have the news that Riem has just joined his brother on the stage in Heaven to serenade the angels. He was only 74 years old, too young, but probably missing the “harmonies” of Rudy.
So, on behalf of all the Lankan/Aussies & everybody else who had the pleasure of listening to them “on stage”(you can still see them on “you-tube”), I say,
” GOODBYE, BLUE DIAMONDS”, God bless & keep you,
forever in his arms.
Desmond Kelly.
eLanka.
