Love Don't Roam

"Love Don't Roam" was a song playing at what would have been the wedding reception of Donna Noble and Lance Bennett, had they actually gotten married. Though most of the wedding guests were dancing vigorously to the song, the Tenth Doctor leaned up against the bar and investigated the ownership of H.C. Clements on a stranger's cellphone. Then, as he began to actually listen to the lyrics of the song, which referenced a loved one vanishing, the Doctor caught a glimpse of a blonde woman on the dance floor who reminded him of the recently-lost Rose Tyler and began to have short flashbacks of his time with her. Quickly dismissing the emotion of the moment, he noticed the wedding photographer and began to investigate his recording of Donna's earlier disappearance during her wedding. The song continued to play until the Santa roboforms began to attack to the reception hall. (TV: The Runaway Bride)

Lyrics

Well, I've roamed about this Earth

With just a suitcase in my hand,

And I've met some bog-eyed Joe's,

I've met the blessed, I've met the damned.

But of all the strange, strange creatures

In the air, at sea, on land,

Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,

I love you, you understand.

So, reel me in, my precious girl,

Come on, take me home.

'Cause my body's tired of travelling

And my heart don't wish to roam. No, no.

I have wandered, I have rambled

I have crossed this crowded sphere,

And I've seen a mass of problems

That I long to disappear.

Now, all I have's this anguished heart,

For you have vanished too.

Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,

Just what is this man to do?

So, reel me in, my precious girl,

Come on, take me home.

'Cause my body's tired of travelling

And my heart don't wish to roam.

Yeah, reel me in, my precious girl,

Come on, take me home.

'Cause my body's tired of travelling

And my heart don't wish to roam. No, no.

Well, you took me in, you stole my heart,

I cannot roam no more.

Because love, it stays within you,

It does not wash up on a shore.

But a fighting man forgets each cut

Each knock, each bruise, each fall,

But a fighting man cannot forget

Why his love don't roam no more.

Oh, reel me in, my precious girl,

Come on, take me home.

'Cause my body's tired of travelling

And my heart don't wish to roam.

Yeah, reel me in, my precious girl,

Come on, take me home.

'Cause my body's tired of travelling

And my heart don't wish to roam.

Yeah, walk with me, my love, my love, Walk tall, walk proud, walk far, For you know my love, you are, you are, You are my shining star.

Walk with me, oh my love,

Walk tall, walk proud, walk far.

For you know my love, you are, you are,

You are my shining star, you are, you are.

Yeah!

Reel me in, my precious girl,

Come on, take me home.

My body's tired of travelling

And my heart don't wish to roam. X3

Behind the scenes

• The song was composed by Murray Gold and sung by Neil Hannon.
• The episode never gave the name of the song. Instead, its name was given prior to the broadcast of The Runaway Bride at the 2006 Doctor Who Children in Need Concert (also known as the "Music and Monsters" concert, after the name of the attending Doctor Who Confidential episode). Oddly, though this was the public debut of the song, it was sung by Gary Williams rather than Hannon.
• "Love Don't Roam" was the second original song commissioned for the revived Doctor Who series, and the first to appear diegetically — that is, in such a way that the characters were shown to be hearing it. Unlike the earlier "Song for Ten", then, it was not incidental music, but instead an actual part of the narrative.
• It was released on the the series 1 and 2 soundtrack album, even though other music from The Runaway Bride would later appear on the series 3 soundtrack album.
• One line of the song included the words, "all the strange, strange creatures." This would later be used by Gold as the title for his secondary theme composition, which would also be known as the "trailer theme" for its frequent use in trailers. Thus although the series 3 soundtrack album does not include "Love Don't Roam", it does include an instrumental piece named by a lyric within "Love Don't Roam".