Lakeman grew up with his two brothers Sean and Sam in the village of Buckland Monachorum in West Devon, England. He began playing music with his parents and two brothers at an early age. As The Lakeman Brothers, the three brothers released their debut album Three Piece Suite in 1994. Later that same year they were invited by two Yorkshire based singers Kathryn Roberts and Kate Rusby to join them as a backing group on a tour of Portugal. After the tour the five musicians became a permanent group and called themselves Equation. The group were signed in a record deal with Time Warner in 1995. After three full albums (Return to Me in 1996, Hazy Daze in 1998, and The Lucky Few in 2000), and tours in the UK, Europe and the United States, Lakeman left Equation in 2001. With his brother Sam he appeared on Sam's wife Cara Dillon's eponymous debut album, which featured Lakeman on fiddle, guitar and vocals. The album won two awards at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
In 2002 Lakeman released his first solo album, The Punch Bowl, which received wide critical acclaim including a review in fRoots magazine which said: "The songs don't just glide smoothly by.....they get their claws into you".
Kitty Jay, Lakeman's second solo album was released in 2004. The title track of the album tells the story of Jay's Grave, a well known location on Dartmoor. That same year he collaborated with Devon singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and young local singer Jenna Witts on the album Western Approaches.
A UK tour in Autumn 2005 followed his Mercury Music Prize nomination, after which Lakeman and his band (regularly brother Sean on guitar, Ben Nichols on bass, Andy Tween on drums), toured extensively with folk-rock band The Levellers, who took to closing their set with a "fiddle off" between Lakeman and Levellers' fiddler Jonathan Sevink. Other support tours with Billy Bragg and Jools Holland brought Lakeman's music to a wider audience.
In March 2006 Lakeman began a UK tour in order to promote his new album Freedom Fields which was released on iScream. He signed to a new major record label, Relentless Records, promptly releasing a new single "Lady of the Sea" in early August 2006.
His fourth solo album, Poor Man's Heaven, was released on 30 June 2008 with an accompanying tour. It introduced a rockier edge to the folk of the previous albums. His fifth solo album, Hearts & Minds, was released on 19 July 2010. Lakeman released his sixth album called Tales From The Barrel House on 18 November 2011.
www.sethlakeman.co.uk
03 Crimson Dawn
Seth Lakeman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well I woke to hear that sound
Like a gunshot,
With both windows shaking loud.
Great lengthy cries that came racing through the sky,
From a fearsome wreck,
A great dagger stuck in her deck.
Crimson Dawn,
My heart was torn,
A midnight rescue we were called upon,
A freedom fire with burning eyes,
A figure tangled up in turning tides
so I cut her free and find....
This floating town it'd broke up, run aground
When the call came out to put fair Charlotte in
So we ploughed those waves
With a hundred left to save
In the fading light, well I held on strong and tight
(chorus)
ill stay with you 'til the morning light
In the turning tide
Ill set you free
sharp rocks we braved,
For the last hand I would save,
It was a beauty fair
With wild and tangled hair,
Thick rope entwined well I cut her free and find
That your fast embrace, well I held her face to face.
(chorus)
so I cut her free and find
In turning tides
So I cut her free and find
In turning tides
Ill stay with you 'til the morning light
Ill set you free
it was a fateful night when I woke to hear that sound
Like a gunshot, with both windows shaking loud.
The song "Crimson Dawn" by Seth Lakeman describes a fateful night where the singer hears a loud sound like a gunshot that causes both windows to shake. The sound was coming from a ship that crashed in the vicinity, and the singer was called upon to rescue the occupants of the ship. The ship is described as having a great dagger stuck in her deck, and the occupants were in a sorry state. One of the occupants is described as having wild and tangled hair and a thick rope entwined around her, but the singer manages to cut her free and hold her face to face.
The song talks about the harrowing experience of saving the occupants of the ship in the midst of sharp rocks and a turning tide. However, there is a glimmer of hope and freedom as the singer helps the occupants to safety. The chorus talks about a "midnight rescue" and a "freedom fire" with burning eyes. The song ends with the promise to stay with the rescued occupants until the morning light and to set them free.
Line by Line Meaning
One fateful night,
This story begins on a dark and important night.
Well I woke to hear that sound
The singer was suddenly awakened by a loud and ominous noise.
Like a gunshot,
The sound was similar to that of a gunshot - a sharp and explosive noise.
With both windows shaking loud.
The noise was so loud that it caused both of the artist's windows to shake.
Great lengthy cries that came racing through the sky,
The noise was followed by long and terrible cries that could be heard all around.
From a fearsome wreck,
The source of the noise was a shipwreck that was in a terrible state.
A great dagger stuck in her deck.
The wreck had a large and dangerous-looking object stuck in its deck.
(chorus)
The chorus is a haunting refrain that repeats throughout the song.
Crimson Dawn,
The title of the song refers to the moment of dawn when everything is still dark, but with a hint of red light in the sky.
My heart was torn,
This line expresses the artist's emotional reaction to what they've witnessed.
A midnight rescue we were called upon,
The singer was called upon to carry out a dangerous and daring rescue mission in the middle of the night.
A freedom fire with burning eyes,
The rescue mission is described as a 'freedom fire' with burning eyes, suggesting that it was intense and passionate.
A figure tangled up in turning tides
The person that needed rescuing was caught in the unpredictable and chaotic currents of the ocean.
so I cut her free and find....
The singer cuts the person free from the wreckage and finds something, the nature of which is not yet revealed at this point in the song.
This floating town it'd broke up, run aground
The wreck is described as a 'floating town' that has broken up and run aground on the shore.
When the call came out to put fair Charlotte in
The artist receives a call to rescue someone named Charlotte, who is presumably trapped on the wreck.
So we ploughed those waves
The artist and their team brave the rough waves of the ocean to reach the wreck and carry out the rescue.
With a hundred left to save
The crew of the rescue mission have many lives to save and little time to do so.
In the fading light, well I held on strong and tight
The rescue mission takes place in the evening, and the singer is determined to succeed despite the difficult circumstances.
(chorus)
The chorus repeats again here, emphasizing the emotional weight of the situation.
ill stay with you 'til the morning light
The artist is willing to stay with the person they rescued until the light of dawn in order to make sure they are safe.
In the turning tide
The phrase 'turning tide' suggests a change or a shift, perhaps a metaphor for the turning point in the story.
Ill set you free
The singer promises to free the person they rescued from the wreckage.
sharp rocks we braved,
The rescue mission involved navigating through dangerous and sharp rocks.
For the last hand I would save,
The singer sees the person they are rescuing as the last person they will ever save, making the situation all the more dramatic and urgent.
It was a beauty fair
The person who has been rescued is described as someone who looks beautiful.
With wild and tangled hair,
The person has hair that is messy and unkempt, suggesting that they have been through a lot of difficulty and trauma.
Thick rope entwined well I cut her free and find
The artist cuts the person free from the ropes that are tangled around them and discovers something, which is still not yet revealed.
That your fast embrace, well I held her face to face.
The artist holds the person they rescued in their arms and looks at them directly, creating a moment of intimacy and connection.
(chorus)
The chorus repeats once more, emphasizing the emotional arc of the story.
so I cut her free and find
This line repeats again, emphasizing the importance of what the singer has discovered.
In turning tides
This phrase repeats again, perhaps hinting at the fact that the turning point in the story has yet to come.
Ill stay with you 'til the morning light
This line repeats again, emphasizing the depth of the artist's commitment to the person they have rescued.
Ill set you free
This line repeats again, emphasizing the primary objective of the rescue mission.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
WorldSpinningBlueJay
I love Seth Lakeman! Seen him live 4 times :) this is a great song!
Bellossoming
Think at the moment this is my favorite one by him. But he's so talented and all his songs are amazing. :D
oSoulStar
this song rocks!
Noctuary Fahy
Whenever I listen to this, i like to think that its sung by a father tell his children how he met their mum 💖
Emzii Oddball
love yu seth! yeh i love this song too n ive danced on stage to 6 of his songs they are great! x
JonABE
Heard this song many years ago on a plane to India..or was it Korea.., anyways glad I committed Seth's name to memory so I can revisit this classic every now and then.
Mike Juggins
Shaolin brother bud x