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
Kitty Jay
Seth Lakeman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Such a beauty cast away
This silent prayer
It should paint some peace
On her grave
Something broke her sleep
Poor Kitty Jay
So young and fair
Now she's turned to dust
And clay
Terror broke her sleep
Never guessed unto her cold end
Called the Devil her only friend
Never guessed it with his bare hands
Called the Devil the mark of man
Seth Lakeman's song, "Kitty Jay," is a haunting ballad that tells the story of a young woman who was tragically cast aside and ultimately met an untimely demise. In the first verse, the singer mourns for Kitty Jay, a beautiful girl who was likely abandoned, and wishes for peace to be granted to her in death. The line "something broke her sleep" suggests that Kitty may have died in a violent or unexpected manner, leaving her restless in the afterlife. In the second verse, the singer laments Kitty's youth and beauty and remarks that she has now turned to "dust and clay," which implies that she has passed away and is buried. The line "terror broke her sleep" reinforces the idea that Kitty's death was not peaceful.
Line by Line Meaning
Poor Kitty Jay
The subject of the song is a woman named Kitty Jay who was a person of unfortunate circumstances.
Such a beauty cast away
Despite being beautiful, Kitty Jay was neglected and abandoned by those who should have cared for her.
This silent prayer
The singer offers a prayer for Kitty Jay, who may have died alone and unloved.
It should paint some peace
The prayer is intended to bring Kitty Jay some sense of calm in her eternal rest.
On her grave
The prayer is offered for Kitty Jay's soul as it rests in death.
Something broke her sleep
An unknown force or trauma caused a disturbance in Kitty Jay's life or sleep.
So young and fair
Kitty Jay was a young, beautiful woman whose life was cut short.
Now she's turned to dust and clay
After death, Kitty Jay's physical body has decomposed and turned to dust, leaving nothing behind.
Terror broke her sleep
Something frightening or traumatic caused Kitty Jay to experience fear while she slept or lived.
Never guessed unto her cold end
Kitty Jay may not have realized the gravity of her situation or her impending death.
Called the Devil her only friend
In her despair and isolation, Kitty Jay may have felt that the Devil offered her companionship or solace.
Never guessed it with his bare hands
Kitty Jay may have been unaware that someone took her life with their own hands.
Called the Devil the mark of man
The perpetrator of Kitty Jay's death is seen as evil and portrayed as being in league with the Devil.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: SETH LAKEMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jasonmolyneux6615
this guy needs more recognition.....true talent
@SisterMoonrain
how can anyone not like this? The guy is just awesome!!!!!!!
@shelleyashton1209
Just 😊beautiful
@malcolmclarke3033
Outstanding. Seen Seth 3 times now, just gets better and better. Not been to the Minack. Looks magical.
@paulfearn3539
We can't believe that we are finally goin to see Seth live at the Minack in just over 5 weeks. Another box ticked. 😍
@lawman1965
This is really hard to do - sing, stomp that drum and fiddle. Really excellent music from a very talented man.
@beardedlady6291
Very very talented person. Remember seeing him for the first time 7 years ago. Every one of his performances surpases my thought of what an artist can do.
@Grigeral
Realistically, the stomping wouldn't be. It's in time with the music so it's no different to keeping time like any musician would. Not taking away from his abilities there, any person who can sing and play an instrument is already impressive in my eyes. I've learned multiple instruments have have never been able to play one while singing lol.
@mattp1734
@@Grigeral I'm no musician but I am an athlete. I don't see the stomping being impressive because it's on time. Rather it's impressive because he was doing it for 4 minutes non-stop (which is brutal because he's picking up his whole foot), he had to balance on one foot while playing (he ain't standing on the foot when it's in the air), and he had to control his entire torso so that the movement of his foot moving wouldn't move his violin and thus impact his notes. Oh, the closing also demonstrated that his foot is dictating volume, meaning he needs to be applying the same force without fatiguing. All that while after already playing a gig for an hour at least (based off other clips from this place) I don't know music, but it's a great display of athleticism.
@Grigeral
@@mattp1734 that's a very fair point I hadn't taken into consideration