Arwen Arabella Hardy, known professionally as Bella Hardy, is an English c… Read Full Bio ↴Arwen Arabella Hardy, known professionally as Bella Hardy, is an English contemporary folk musician, singer and songwriter from Edale in Derbyshire. She performed in various line-ups as a teenager, including The Pack and Ola, and reached the final of the BBC Young Folk Awards in 2004, but it was the release of her debut solo album Night Visiting in 2007 which garnered her recognition at the forefront of modern folk music.

As a child she was always singing. Edale, in Derbyshire, was the ideal place to nurture this natural ability, with an abundance of communal song. Having played the fiddle a small amount at school, Bella attended a Folkworks Youth Summer School in Durham age 13. Motivated by the number of young people playing folk music, she was inspired to begin working on folk fiddle. She also met many of her great friends and musical companions.

Some of these new friends arranged to meet up again, and on New Year's Day a year later The Pack was formed. Initially The Pack was a way for this group of people to get free tickets to festivals. The spirited performances and complex arrangements of the 12 piece band proved a resounding success, and they went on to play many of the scene's greatest stages, including Cambridge Folk Festival main stage in 2003. In 2002, the only Pack album 12 Little Devils was released, with fRoots calling it "... a genuine feel good album. Get yours now!".

Hardy released her debut solo album Night Visiting in 2007, to critical acclaim. Mojo gave her a 4* 'Brilliant' rating, fRoots wrote "Bella Hardy is more than a new generation folk revivalist... Her potential is massive", and Taplas Magazine noted "...her debut CD solo album is a piece of wondrous beauty and inventive incisiveness". In 2008 she was nominated for the Horizon Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. She was also nominated for Best Original Song the same year with Three Black Feathers, which Jim Moray went on to record on his 2008 album Low Culture.

Hardy released her second solo album In The Shadow of Mountains in 2009 at the Cambridge Folk Festival. Again it gained critical acclaim. English Dance and Song Magazine wrote "It's astounding and somewhat daunting to realise this is only Bella's second album... Surely no-one has any right to be writing songs with the sophistication of 'Sylvie Sovay', so early in their career..."

Down in Yon Forest
Bella Hardy Lyrics

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Down in yon forest there stands a hall
The bells of paradise I heard them ring
It’s covered all over with purple and pall
And I love my lord Jesus above anything

A knight there lies upon a bed
The bells of paradise I heard them ring
All scarlet’s the coverlet over him spread

And I love my lord Jesus above anything

At the end of that bed there grows a thorn
The bells of paradise I heard them ring
It blooms ere it blossoms the day he was born
And I love my lord Jesus above anything

Under that bed there runs a flood
The bells of paradise I heard them ring
A half it runs water, the other runs blood
And I love my lord Jesus above anything

And over that place the moon shines bright
The bells of paradise I heard them ring

To tell that our saviour was born this night
And I love my lord Jesus above anything

Overall Meaning

In Bella Hardy's song Down in Yon Forest, the lyrics describe a scene of a forest with a hall that stands within it, covered with purple and pall. The singer then goes on to describe a knight who lies on a bed within the hall, covered in scarlet. The end of the bed is adorned with a thorn that bloomed the day the knight was born. The singer notes that there runs a flood under the bed, half water, and half blood. Overall, the song speaks of the love of Jesus by the singer, which is considered to be above anything else. The song is steeped in religious imagery and evokes a sense of spiritual passion.

The lyrics of Down in Yon Forest are traditional and date back several centuries. The song has been covered by several artists over time, including Joan Baez, Kate Rusby, and Sting, among others. The song's origins are somewhat shrouded in mystery, with various interpretations of its meaning and history. Some believe that the song is a reference to the birth of Jesus, while others think that it may have been inspired by Arthurian legends.

Interestingly, the song is mentioned in several works of English literature, including a novel by Thomas Hardy, who may have taken inspiration for his novel's title from the song. The lyrics of the song are also similar to an Anglo-Saxon poem, which may suggest that the song's history and origins are even older than previously thought.

Line by Line Meaning

Down in yon forest there stands a hall
In the forest, there is a grand hall standing firmly.

The bells of paradise I heard them ring
I heard the heavenly bells ringing, signaling an important event.

It’s covered all over with purple and pall
The hall is decorated extensively with purple and fine fabrics.