What is the meaning of “Fare thee well”?





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There is a song that I really like and it says "Fare thee well my honey, fare thee well". Could it be something like "good luck my honey"?
I did a little research and found that "fare thee well" means "do something perfectly" but it just doesn't make any sense to me.










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  • Merriam Webster states of 'illfare' (the antonym of 'welfare') the condition of faring badly or of not being well off. So to 'fare well' is to be in a good condition. But I believe that 'fare thee well' indicates some effort is required. It is not automatic, I feel. I think the modern equivalent might well be 'take care'.

    – Nigel J
    May 28 '18 at 23:48






  • 2





    Possible duplicate of How did “fare-thee-well” come to mean “perfectly well”?

    – lbf
    May 28 '18 at 23:58






  • 2





    "Fare thee well" also used to mean farewell, goodbye. Are you sure that's not what what it means in the song?

    – Peter Shor
    May 29 '18 at 0:00








  • 1





    Especially when one verse (in one version of the song) goes One o’ these mornings, And it won’t be long, You’re gonna call my name And I’ll be gone, Fare thee well, my Honey, Oh, fare thee well.

    – Peter Shor
    May 29 '18 at 0:03













  • Joan Baez - youtube.com/watch?v=QhAkNrelNbU

    – Greg Lee
    May 29 '18 at 1:13


















0















There is a song that I really like and it says "Fare thee well my honey, fare thee well". Could it be something like "good luck my honey"?
I did a little research and found that "fare thee well" means "do something perfectly" but it just doesn't make any sense to me.










share|improve this question

























  • Merriam Webster states of 'illfare' (the antonym of 'welfare') the condition of faring badly or of not being well off. So to 'fare well' is to be in a good condition. But I believe that 'fare thee well' indicates some effort is required. It is not automatic, I feel. I think the modern equivalent might well be 'take care'.

    – Nigel J
    May 28 '18 at 23:48






  • 2





    Possible duplicate of How did “fare-thee-well” come to mean “perfectly well”?

    – lbf
    May 28 '18 at 23:58






  • 2





    "Fare thee well" also used to mean farewell, goodbye. Are you sure that's not what what it means in the song?

    – Peter Shor
    May 29 '18 at 0:00








  • 1





    Especially when one verse (in one version of the song) goes One o’ these mornings, And it won’t be long, You’re gonna call my name And I’ll be gone, Fare thee well, my Honey, Oh, fare thee well.

    – Peter Shor
    May 29 '18 at 0:03













  • Joan Baez - youtube.com/watch?v=QhAkNrelNbU

    – Greg Lee
    May 29 '18 at 1:13














0












0








0








There is a song that I really like and it says "Fare thee well my honey, fare thee well". Could it be something like "good luck my honey"?
I did a little research and found that "fare thee well" means "do something perfectly" but it just doesn't make any sense to me.










share|improve this question
















There is a song that I really like and it says "Fare thee well my honey, fare thee well". Could it be something like "good luck my honey"?
I did a little research and found that "fare thee well" means "do something perfectly" but it just doesn't make any sense to me.







meaning






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share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited May 29 '18 at 2:42









CJ Dennis

2,12341645




2,12341645










asked May 28 '18 at 23:44









IanIan

11114




11114













  • Merriam Webster states of 'illfare' (the antonym of 'welfare') the condition of faring badly or of not being well off. So to 'fare well' is to be in a good condition. But I believe that 'fare thee well' indicates some effort is required. It is not automatic, I feel. I think the modern equivalent might well be 'take care'.

    – Nigel J
    May 28 '18 at 23:48






  • 2





    Possible duplicate of How did “fare-thee-well” come to mean “perfectly well”?

    – lbf
    May 28 '18 at 23:58






  • 2





    "Fare thee well" also used to mean farewell, goodbye. Are you sure that's not what what it means in the song?

    – Peter Shor
    May 29 '18 at 0:00








  • 1





    Especially when one verse (in one version of the song) goes One o’ these mornings, And it won’t be long, You’re gonna call my name And I’ll be gone, Fare thee well, my Honey, Oh, fare thee well.

    – Peter Shor
    May 29 '18 at 0:03













  • Joan Baez - youtube.com/watch?v=QhAkNrelNbU

    – Greg Lee
    May 29 '18 at 1:13



















  • Merriam Webster states of 'illfare' (the antonym of 'welfare') the condition of faring badly or of not being well off. So to 'fare well' is to be in a good condition. But I believe that 'fare thee well' indicates some effort is required. It is not automatic, I feel. I think the modern equivalent might well be 'take care'.

    – Nigel J
    May 28 '18 at 23:48






  • 2





    Possible duplicate of How did “fare-thee-well” come to mean “perfectly well”?

    – lbf
    May 28 '18 at 23:58






  • 2





    "Fare thee well" also used to mean farewell, goodbye. Are you sure that's not what what it means in the song?

    – Peter Shor
    May 29 '18 at 0:00








  • 1





    Especially when one verse (in one version of the song) goes One o’ these mornings, And it won’t be long, You’re gonna call my name And I’ll be gone, Fare thee well, my Honey, Oh, fare thee well.

    – Peter Shor
    May 29 '18 at 0:03













  • Joan Baez - youtube.com/watch?v=QhAkNrelNbU

    – Greg Lee
    May 29 '18 at 1:13

















Merriam Webster states of 'illfare' (the antonym of 'welfare') the condition of faring badly or of not being well off. So to 'fare well' is to be in a good condition. But I believe that 'fare thee well' indicates some effort is required. It is not automatic, I feel. I think the modern equivalent might well be 'take care'.

– Nigel J
May 28 '18 at 23:48





Merriam Webster states of 'illfare' (the antonym of 'welfare') the condition of faring badly or of not being well off. So to 'fare well' is to be in a good condition. But I believe that 'fare thee well' indicates some effort is required. It is not automatic, I feel. I think the modern equivalent might well be 'take care'.

– Nigel J
May 28 '18 at 23:48




2




2





Possible duplicate of How did “fare-thee-well” come to mean “perfectly well”?

– lbf
May 28 '18 at 23:58





Possible duplicate of How did “fare-thee-well” come to mean “perfectly well”?

– lbf
May 28 '18 at 23:58




2




2





"Fare thee well" also used to mean farewell, goodbye. Are you sure that's not what what it means in the song?

– Peter Shor
May 29 '18 at 0:00







"Fare thee well" also used to mean farewell, goodbye. Are you sure that's not what what it means in the song?

– Peter Shor
May 29 '18 at 0:00






1




1





Especially when one verse (in one version of the song) goes One o’ these mornings, And it won’t be long, You’re gonna call my name And I’ll be gone, Fare thee well, my Honey, Oh, fare thee well.

– Peter Shor
May 29 '18 at 0:03







Especially when one verse (in one version of the song) goes One o’ these mornings, And it won’t be long, You’re gonna call my name And I’ll be gone, Fare thee well, my Honey, Oh, fare thee well.

– Peter Shor
May 29 '18 at 0:03















Joan Baez - youtube.com/watch?v=QhAkNrelNbU

– Greg Lee
May 29 '18 at 1:13





Joan Baez - youtube.com/watch?v=QhAkNrelNbU

– Greg Lee
May 29 '18 at 1:13










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















3














There should be no a real problem with this phrase.



Fare meant in earlier times "to make one's way", "to journey".



Thee is the second person object pronoun (now usually "you").



Well might be thought of as adverbially "good".



Fare thee well means to "live well", "have a good life". Some still used the phrase when I was young. It was used as a valediction when people parted for an extended period. It has been misunderstood because of the idiomatic phrase "to a fare thee well", which came to mean "done perfectly". I think it is clear that meaning came from the idea something was done to a point there was nothing left but to say "goodbye". (Sam beat Fred "to a fare thee well", (perfectly beat him), meaning there was nothing left to do but say goodbye.)






share|improve this answer

































    3














    By itself, "fare thee well" a simple phrase of parting, a variant of "farewell" or "farewell [to] thee", and that's what it means in the song lyric. As a phrase "to a fare-thee-well" it means "to an extreme degree".






    share|improve this answer
























    • I believe that this is misleading. I believe that “farewell” is a shortened version of “fare thee well”, just as “goodbye” is reportedly an abbreviation of “God be with you” (or maybe “God be with ye”).

      – Scott
      yesterday



















    3














    In Dutch there is a similar expression which is 'vaarwel' or 'vaar wel'.



    The wording and meaning are so similar that they probably have the same origin. Therefore it may help to compare them.



    In Dutch it is a saying of goodby - forever. It means that we will not meet again and I wish you a good journey/life.



    'wel' means 'well' as in lucky or in a good way.
    The literal meaning of 'vaar' (sounds like 'fare') is 'sail' (as in travel by ship). A secondary meaning is the way your life or business is going.
    In this saying it means 'I wish you luck for the rest of your life'.






    share|improve this answer
























    • Vaarwel is the Dutch equivalent of farewell, which is not quite the same as fare thee well (‘vare [het] jou wel’). Specifically, farewell and fare thee well are historically two different constructions using two different meanings of the verb fare (imperative ‘get on, manage’ vs. subjunctive ‘happen, turn out’). Also, Dutch varen meaning specifically ‘sail’ is a narrowing of the meaning that occurred within Dutch itself. The original base meaning, and still the current one in English, German, and the North Germanic languages, is simply ‘go, travel, move’.

      – Janus Bahs Jacquet
      May 29 '18 at 14:30





















    0














    This line is very common in British folk songs. The traditional music resource Mainly Norfolk has several versions of "The Turtle Dove" containing it on this page alone. Not all the versions contain 'fare thee well' but most of them do.



    Bob Dylan wrote a song called Farewell (possibly influenced by The Turtle Dove) which contains it; and Robert Burns used it in A Red Red Rose. In all cases it means "goodbye" but carries connotations of goodwill and affection: it would be unlikely that anyone would use it when parting on bad terms.



    According to The Online Etymological Dictionary "to a fare thee well" meaning to perfection only dates from the late 19th century and only in the US. As a British person I'd never heard it used that way at all.






    share|improve this answer
























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      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes








      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      3














      There should be no a real problem with this phrase.



      Fare meant in earlier times "to make one's way", "to journey".



      Thee is the second person object pronoun (now usually "you").



      Well might be thought of as adverbially "good".



      Fare thee well means to "live well", "have a good life". Some still used the phrase when I was young. It was used as a valediction when people parted for an extended period. It has been misunderstood because of the idiomatic phrase "to a fare thee well", which came to mean "done perfectly". I think it is clear that meaning came from the idea something was done to a point there was nothing left but to say "goodbye". (Sam beat Fred "to a fare thee well", (perfectly beat him), meaning there was nothing left to do but say goodbye.)






      share|improve this answer






























        3














        There should be no a real problem with this phrase.



        Fare meant in earlier times "to make one's way", "to journey".



        Thee is the second person object pronoun (now usually "you").



        Well might be thought of as adverbially "good".



        Fare thee well means to "live well", "have a good life". Some still used the phrase when I was young. It was used as a valediction when people parted for an extended period. It has been misunderstood because of the idiomatic phrase "to a fare thee well", which came to mean "done perfectly". I think it is clear that meaning came from the idea something was done to a point there was nothing left but to say "goodbye". (Sam beat Fred "to a fare thee well", (perfectly beat him), meaning there was nothing left to do but say goodbye.)






        share|improve this answer




























          3












          3








          3







          There should be no a real problem with this phrase.



          Fare meant in earlier times "to make one's way", "to journey".



          Thee is the second person object pronoun (now usually "you").



          Well might be thought of as adverbially "good".



          Fare thee well means to "live well", "have a good life". Some still used the phrase when I was young. It was used as a valediction when people parted for an extended period. It has been misunderstood because of the idiomatic phrase "to a fare thee well", which came to mean "done perfectly". I think it is clear that meaning came from the idea something was done to a point there was nothing left but to say "goodbye". (Sam beat Fred "to a fare thee well", (perfectly beat him), meaning there was nothing left to do but say goodbye.)






          share|improve this answer















          There should be no a real problem with this phrase.



          Fare meant in earlier times "to make one's way", "to journey".



          Thee is the second person object pronoun (now usually "you").



          Well might be thought of as adverbially "good".



          Fare thee well means to "live well", "have a good life". Some still used the phrase when I was young. It was used as a valediction when people parted for an extended period. It has been misunderstood because of the idiomatic phrase "to a fare thee well", which came to mean "done perfectly". I think it is clear that meaning came from the idea something was done to a point there was nothing left but to say "goodbye". (Sam beat Fred "to a fare thee well", (perfectly beat him), meaning there was nothing left to do but say goodbye.)







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited May 29 '18 at 14:04

























          answered May 29 '18 at 11:26









          J. TaylorJ. Taylor

          4,49841325




          4,49841325

























              3














              By itself, "fare thee well" a simple phrase of parting, a variant of "farewell" or "farewell [to] thee", and that's what it means in the song lyric. As a phrase "to a fare-thee-well" it means "to an extreme degree".






              share|improve this answer
























              • I believe that this is misleading. I believe that “farewell” is a shortened version of “fare thee well”, just as “goodbye” is reportedly an abbreviation of “God be with you” (or maybe “God be with ye”).

                – Scott
                yesterday
















              3














              By itself, "fare thee well" a simple phrase of parting, a variant of "farewell" or "farewell [to] thee", and that's what it means in the song lyric. As a phrase "to a fare-thee-well" it means "to an extreme degree".






              share|improve this answer
























              • I believe that this is misleading. I believe that “farewell” is a shortened version of “fare thee well”, just as “goodbye” is reportedly an abbreviation of “God be with you” (or maybe “God be with ye”).

                – Scott
                yesterday














              3












              3








              3







              By itself, "fare thee well" a simple phrase of parting, a variant of "farewell" or "farewell [to] thee", and that's what it means in the song lyric. As a phrase "to a fare-thee-well" it means "to an extreme degree".






              share|improve this answer













              By itself, "fare thee well" a simple phrase of parting, a variant of "farewell" or "farewell [to] thee", and that's what it means in the song lyric. As a phrase "to a fare-thee-well" it means "to an extreme degree".







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered May 29 '18 at 4:23









              tautophiletautophile

              439136




              439136













              • I believe that this is misleading. I believe that “farewell” is a shortened version of “fare thee well”, just as “goodbye” is reportedly an abbreviation of “God be with you” (or maybe “God be with ye”).

                – Scott
                yesterday



















              • I believe that this is misleading. I believe that “farewell” is a shortened version of “fare thee well”, just as “goodbye” is reportedly an abbreviation of “God be with you” (or maybe “God be with ye”).

                – Scott
                yesterday

















              I believe that this is misleading. I believe that “farewell” is a shortened version of “fare thee well”, just as “goodbye” is reportedly an abbreviation of “God be with you” (or maybe “God be with ye”).

              – Scott
              yesterday





              I believe that this is misleading. I believe that “farewell” is a shortened version of “fare thee well”, just as “goodbye” is reportedly an abbreviation of “God be with you” (or maybe “God be with ye”).

              – Scott
              yesterday











              3














              In Dutch there is a similar expression which is 'vaarwel' or 'vaar wel'.



              The wording and meaning are so similar that they probably have the same origin. Therefore it may help to compare them.



              In Dutch it is a saying of goodby - forever. It means that we will not meet again and I wish you a good journey/life.



              'wel' means 'well' as in lucky or in a good way.
              The literal meaning of 'vaar' (sounds like 'fare') is 'sail' (as in travel by ship). A secondary meaning is the way your life or business is going.
              In this saying it means 'I wish you luck for the rest of your life'.






              share|improve this answer
























              • Vaarwel is the Dutch equivalent of farewell, which is not quite the same as fare thee well (‘vare [het] jou wel’). Specifically, farewell and fare thee well are historically two different constructions using two different meanings of the verb fare (imperative ‘get on, manage’ vs. subjunctive ‘happen, turn out’). Also, Dutch varen meaning specifically ‘sail’ is a narrowing of the meaning that occurred within Dutch itself. The original base meaning, and still the current one in English, German, and the North Germanic languages, is simply ‘go, travel, move’.

                – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                May 29 '18 at 14:30


















              3














              In Dutch there is a similar expression which is 'vaarwel' or 'vaar wel'.



              The wording and meaning are so similar that they probably have the same origin. Therefore it may help to compare them.



              In Dutch it is a saying of goodby - forever. It means that we will not meet again and I wish you a good journey/life.



              'wel' means 'well' as in lucky or in a good way.
              The literal meaning of 'vaar' (sounds like 'fare') is 'sail' (as in travel by ship). A secondary meaning is the way your life or business is going.
              In this saying it means 'I wish you luck for the rest of your life'.






              share|improve this answer
























              • Vaarwel is the Dutch equivalent of farewell, which is not quite the same as fare thee well (‘vare [het] jou wel’). Specifically, farewell and fare thee well are historically two different constructions using two different meanings of the verb fare (imperative ‘get on, manage’ vs. subjunctive ‘happen, turn out’). Also, Dutch varen meaning specifically ‘sail’ is a narrowing of the meaning that occurred within Dutch itself. The original base meaning, and still the current one in English, German, and the North Germanic languages, is simply ‘go, travel, move’.

                – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                May 29 '18 at 14:30
















              3












              3








              3







              In Dutch there is a similar expression which is 'vaarwel' or 'vaar wel'.



              The wording and meaning are so similar that they probably have the same origin. Therefore it may help to compare them.



              In Dutch it is a saying of goodby - forever. It means that we will not meet again and I wish you a good journey/life.



              'wel' means 'well' as in lucky or in a good way.
              The literal meaning of 'vaar' (sounds like 'fare') is 'sail' (as in travel by ship). A secondary meaning is the way your life or business is going.
              In this saying it means 'I wish you luck for the rest of your life'.






              share|improve this answer













              In Dutch there is a similar expression which is 'vaarwel' or 'vaar wel'.



              The wording and meaning are so similar that they probably have the same origin. Therefore it may help to compare them.



              In Dutch it is a saying of goodby - forever. It means that we will not meet again and I wish you a good journey/life.



              'wel' means 'well' as in lucky or in a good way.
              The literal meaning of 'vaar' (sounds like 'fare') is 'sail' (as in travel by ship). A secondary meaning is the way your life or business is going.
              In this saying it means 'I wish you luck for the rest of your life'.







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered May 29 '18 at 12:18









              user24119user24119

              311




              311













              • Vaarwel is the Dutch equivalent of farewell, which is not quite the same as fare thee well (‘vare [het] jou wel’). Specifically, farewell and fare thee well are historically two different constructions using two different meanings of the verb fare (imperative ‘get on, manage’ vs. subjunctive ‘happen, turn out’). Also, Dutch varen meaning specifically ‘sail’ is a narrowing of the meaning that occurred within Dutch itself. The original base meaning, and still the current one in English, German, and the North Germanic languages, is simply ‘go, travel, move’.

                – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                May 29 '18 at 14:30





















              • Vaarwel is the Dutch equivalent of farewell, which is not quite the same as fare thee well (‘vare [het] jou wel’). Specifically, farewell and fare thee well are historically two different constructions using two different meanings of the verb fare (imperative ‘get on, manage’ vs. subjunctive ‘happen, turn out’). Also, Dutch varen meaning specifically ‘sail’ is a narrowing of the meaning that occurred within Dutch itself. The original base meaning, and still the current one in English, German, and the North Germanic languages, is simply ‘go, travel, move’.

                – Janus Bahs Jacquet
                May 29 '18 at 14:30



















              Vaarwel is the Dutch equivalent of farewell, which is not quite the same as fare thee well (‘vare [het] jou wel’). Specifically, farewell and fare thee well are historically two different constructions using two different meanings of the verb fare (imperative ‘get on, manage’ vs. subjunctive ‘happen, turn out’). Also, Dutch varen meaning specifically ‘sail’ is a narrowing of the meaning that occurred within Dutch itself. The original base meaning, and still the current one in English, German, and the North Germanic languages, is simply ‘go, travel, move’.

              – Janus Bahs Jacquet
              May 29 '18 at 14:30







              Vaarwel is the Dutch equivalent of farewell, which is not quite the same as fare thee well (‘vare [het] jou wel’). Specifically, farewell and fare thee well are historically two different constructions using two different meanings of the verb fare (imperative ‘get on, manage’ vs. subjunctive ‘happen, turn out’). Also, Dutch varen meaning specifically ‘sail’ is a narrowing of the meaning that occurred within Dutch itself. The original base meaning, and still the current one in English, German, and the North Germanic languages, is simply ‘go, travel, move’.

              – Janus Bahs Jacquet
              May 29 '18 at 14:30













              0














              This line is very common in British folk songs. The traditional music resource Mainly Norfolk has several versions of "The Turtle Dove" containing it on this page alone. Not all the versions contain 'fare thee well' but most of them do.



              Bob Dylan wrote a song called Farewell (possibly influenced by The Turtle Dove) which contains it; and Robert Burns used it in A Red Red Rose. In all cases it means "goodbye" but carries connotations of goodwill and affection: it would be unlikely that anyone would use it when parting on bad terms.



              According to The Online Etymological Dictionary "to a fare thee well" meaning to perfection only dates from the late 19th century and only in the US. As a British person I'd never heard it used that way at all.






              share|improve this answer




























                0














                This line is very common in British folk songs. The traditional music resource Mainly Norfolk has several versions of "The Turtle Dove" containing it on this page alone. Not all the versions contain 'fare thee well' but most of them do.



                Bob Dylan wrote a song called Farewell (possibly influenced by The Turtle Dove) which contains it; and Robert Burns used it in A Red Red Rose. In all cases it means "goodbye" but carries connotations of goodwill and affection: it would be unlikely that anyone would use it when parting on bad terms.



                According to The Online Etymological Dictionary "to a fare thee well" meaning to perfection only dates from the late 19th century and only in the US. As a British person I'd never heard it used that way at all.






                share|improve this answer


























                  0












                  0








                  0







                  This line is very common in British folk songs. The traditional music resource Mainly Norfolk has several versions of "The Turtle Dove" containing it on this page alone. Not all the versions contain 'fare thee well' but most of them do.



                  Bob Dylan wrote a song called Farewell (possibly influenced by The Turtle Dove) which contains it; and Robert Burns used it in A Red Red Rose. In all cases it means "goodbye" but carries connotations of goodwill and affection: it would be unlikely that anyone would use it when parting on bad terms.



                  According to The Online Etymological Dictionary "to a fare thee well" meaning to perfection only dates from the late 19th century and only in the US. As a British person I'd never heard it used that way at all.






                  share|improve this answer













                  This line is very common in British folk songs. The traditional music resource Mainly Norfolk has several versions of "The Turtle Dove" containing it on this page alone. Not all the versions contain 'fare thee well' but most of them do.



                  Bob Dylan wrote a song called Farewell (possibly influenced by The Turtle Dove) which contains it; and Robert Burns used it in A Red Red Rose. In all cases it means "goodbye" but carries connotations of goodwill and affection: it would be unlikely that anyone would use it when parting on bad terms.



                  According to The Online Etymological Dictionary "to a fare thee well" meaning to perfection only dates from the late 19th century and only in the US. As a British person I'd never heard it used that way at all.







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                  answered May 29 '18 at 12:49









                  BoldBenBoldBen

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