He was born in Hatfield and grew up in Hampstead, London. After training as an actor he sang in coffee bars. He became a resident at the Troubador folk club in Earls Court in the late 1950s. He joined Redd Sullivan's Thameside Four in 1961. He is a renowned solo performer of traditional songs in a very distinctive style, accompanying himself on his trusty old Martin Guitar; his style is marked by the use of alternate tunings, and a strongly percussive picking style that emphasizes the melody. His debut album, Martin Carthy, was released in 1965, and also featured Dave Swarbrick playing fiddle on some tracks, although he was not mentioned in the album's sleeve notes.
He has also been involved with many musical collaborations. He has sung with The Watersons since 1972, was an early member of the UK folk rock group Steeleye Span, and was part of the innovative Brass Monkey ensemble, which mixed a range of brass instruments with Carthy's guitar and mandolin and John Kirkpatrick's accordion, melodeon and concertina.
For many years Carthy has enjoyed a creative partnership with fiddle player Dave Swarbrick. More recently, Waterson:Carthy has provided the forum for a successful partnership with partner Norma Waterson together with their daughter Eliza Carthy.
In June 1998 he was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. He was named Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2002, and again in 2005 when he also won the award for Best Traditional Track for 'Famous Flower of Serving Men'.
The Foggy Dew
Martin Carthy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I followed the weaving trade.
All the harm that ever I done
Was in courtin' a fair young maid.
I courted her in the summertime,
And all through the winter too.
And the only thing I ever did wrong
Was keep her from the foggy dew.
Well, I got that tired of living alone,
I says to her one day,
"I've a nice little cod in my old shack,
Where you could safely lay.
You'll be all right in the summertime,
And all through the winter, too,
You'll be snug and warm and you'll take no harm,
All out of the foggy dew."
"Well, I don't think much to your old shack,
As I will lonely be,
With only your old Cyprus cat
For to keep me company.
With crickets chirping in the hearth(?)
But whatever can they do,
When the night turns raw and the fire won't draw,
To keep me from the foggy dew?"
One night she come to my bedside,
When I lay fast asleep.
She laid her head down on my breast
And she started in to weep.
She wept, she sighed, she well near died,
She cries, "What shall I do?
For this night I'm resolved to stay with you
Without of the foggy dew."
"Oh lie down there, you silly young girl,
And wipe away those tears."
Then I hauled her shift up over her head,
And I wrapped it round her ears.
We were all right in the summertime
And all through the winter, too.
But I held her tight that livelong night
To keep her from the foggy dew.
"Oh lie down there, you silly young girl,
And don't you be afraid.
If you want to stay with me,
You have to learn your trade."
She learned all through the summertime,
And all through the winter, too.
And truth to tell, she learned that well,
She saved us from the foggy dew.
One night I laid there, good as gold,
When she starts unto me,
Says, "I've got a pain in below my back,
Where no pain ought to be.
I was all right in the summertime,
And all through the winter, too.
But I take some ill or a kind of a chill,
On account of the foggy dew."
That night she started to moan and cry.
Says I, "What's up with you?"
Says she, "I never should have been this way,
If it haven't been for you."
I put my boots and my trousers on,
And I ran for my neighbour, too.
Do what we could, we couldn't do no good,
And she died in the foggy dew.
I'm a bachelor now, and I live with my son,
And we work at the weaving trade.
Each time I look in his eyes, I see
The eyes of that fair young maid.
Reminding me of the summertime,
And of the winter, too.
And of the many times I rolled in her arms
All over the foggy dew.
The Foggy Dew is a traditional Irish folk song that tells the story of a young man reflecting on his past love affair with a fair young maid. He regrets the only wrongdoing he ever did was in courting her and later keeping her from the "foggy dew". The young man then tries to convince her to live with him in his small shack, but she is reluctant due to the loneliness and cold that would come with it. Eventually, she agrees to stay with him, and they spend many happy months together. However, tragedy strikes when she falls ill and dies in the "foggy dew". The song ends with the young man reflecting on his love for her and how he sees her in his son's eyes, who he works alongside at the weaving trade.
The song has been interpreted in many ways, with some seeing it as a cautionary tale about the dangers of lost love and others viewing it as a tribute to the enduring power of memory and love. Some even interpret the "foggy dew" as a metaphor for death or a state of confusion and uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, when I was a bachelor early and young
Back in the day when I was young and single
I followed the weaving trade.
I worked as a weaver
All the harm that ever I done
The worst thing I've ever done
Was in courtin' a fair young maid.
Was fall in love with a young girl
I courted her in the summertime,
I spent time with her during the summer
And all through the winter too.
And continued spending time with her through the winter
And the only thing I ever did wrong
The only mistake I made
Was keep her from the foggy dew.
Was not keeping her warm in the cold weather
Well, I got that tired of living alone,
I got tired of being alone
I says to her one day,
I said to her one day
"I've a nice little cod in my old shack,
"I have a nice place where you can stay in my old house
Where you could safely lay.
Where you can be safe
You'll be all right in the summertime,
You'll be okay during the summer
And all through the winter, too,
And also in the winter
You'll be snug and warm and you'll take no harm,
You'll be warm and safe
All out of the foggy dew."
All without being exposed to the cold weather
"Well, I don't think much to your old shack,
"I don't like your old house much
As I will lonely be,
I'll be lonely
With only your old Cyprus cat
With just the cat as company
For to keep me company.
To keep me entertained
With crickets chirping in the hearth(?),
With just the sound of crickets
But whatever can they do,
What can they do
When the night turns raw and the fire won't draw,
When it gets cold and the fire doesn't give off heat
To keep me from the foggy dew?"
To keep me warm in the cold weather
One night she come to my bedside,
One night she came to my bed
When I lay fast asleep.
When I was asleep
She laid her head down on my breast
She put her head on my chest
And she started in to weep.
And she started crying
She wept, she sighed, she well near died,
She cried, sighed and was close to death
She cries, "What shall I do?
She said, "What am I going to do?
For this night I'm resolved to stay with you
Because I want to stay with you tonight
Without of the foggy dew."
Not exposed to the cold weather
"Oh lie down there, you silly young girl,
"Lie down, you silly girl
And wipe away those tears."
And stop crying
Then I hauled her shift up over her head,
Then I covered her with a blanket
And I wrapped it round her ears.
And covered her ears
We were all right in the summertime
We did well during summer
And all through the winter, too.
And also in the winter
But I held her tight that livelong night
But I held her tight all night
To keep her from the foggy dew.
To keep her warm in the cold weather
"Oh lie down there, you silly young girl,
"Lie down, you silly girl
And don't you be afraid.
And don't be scared
If you want to stay with me,
If you want to be with me
You have to learn your trade."
You have to learn what to do
She learned all through the summertime,
She learned everything during summer
And all through the winter, too.
And continued learning in winter
And truth to tell, she learned that well,
And she learned very well
She saved us from the foggy dew.
She kept us warm in the cold weather
One night I laid there, good as gold,
One night I was sleeping soundly
When she starts unto me,
When she spoke to me
Says, "I've got a pain in below my back,
Said "I have a pain in my back
Where no pain ought to be.
Where I shouldn't have any pain
I was all right in the summertime,
I was okay during the summer
And all through the winter, too.
And also in winter
But I take some ill or a kind of a chill,
But I feel sick or cold
On account of the foggy dew."
Because of the cold weather
That night she started to moan and cry.
She began to moan and cry
Says I, "What's up with you?"
I asked her what was wrong
Says she, "I never should have been this way,
She said, "I wouldn't have been sick
If it haven't been for you."
If it hadn't been for you
I put my boots and my trousers on,
I put on my clothes
And I ran for my neighbour, too.
And I went to get help from my neighbor
Do what we could, we couldn't do no good,
Despite our efforts, we couldn't help her
And she died in the foggy dew.
And she died in the cold weather
I'm a bachelor now, and I live with my son,
I'm single and living with my son
And we work at the weaving trade.
And we still work as weavers
Each time I look in his eyes, I see
Every time I look into my son's eyes, I see
The eyes of that fair young maid.
The eyes of the girl I loved
Reminding me of the summertime,
Reminding me of the summer
And of the winter, too.
And of the winter as well
And of the many times I rolled in her arms
And the many times I held her in my arms
All over the foggy dew.
In spite of the cold weather
Contributed by Leah D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Blacksquareable
Still as amazing as ever. I was fortunate enough 2 see Martin Carthy perform in the back room of a pub when folk ws going through a bit of a downturn. It ws a brilliant evening
@j1mmusj4mmus
Carried tune well.
@viking1au
Just waiting for the 2 of them to do another album together.
@lastnickeldrifter
can't happen ....8"(