Tensions between the band grew during the production in 1970 of their first album, Hark! The Village Wait to the point where they never again worked together after its completion, but the music itself shows no signs of these difficulties. While having a rock sensibility there is a greater sense of the authentic folk tradition than even in the best of Fairport, and a particular beauty arising from the two pairs of voices. The Woods being replaced by admired folk stalwart Martin Carthy, with violinist Peter Knight to widen the musical textures, the group late in 1970 recorded their most admired record Please to see the King. Ten Man Mop followed in 1971, more accomplished but generally felt to be less exciting. The expensive gatefold sleeve swallowed the band's royalties, and was referred to as a tombstone, since Hutchings and Carthy then left, to pursue Hutchings' new vision of a specifically English strand of folk rock with The Albion Band, and Steeleye Mk 2 folded.
However the inclusion of the less celebrated and more rock orientated replacements Rick Kemp and Bob Johnson led to the most commercially successful phase in the band's existence, vocalist Maddy Prior becoming the primary focus of the band, and a run of well received albums, from Below the Salt and Now we Are Six, their first with drummer Nigel Pegrum, to their eighth, and most commercially successful, All Around my Hat, in 1975.
Still active, they have a claim to be one of the longest-lived and perhaps the most commercially successful of all the folk rock bands of the era, thanks to their hit singles Gaudete and All Around My Hat, 3 top 40 albums and even a certified "gold" record with All Around My Hat.
Tim Hart died of lung cancer on 24 December 2009, aged 61.
Shaking Of The Sheets
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.
Bring away the beggar, bring away the king
Bring away the oldest and the youngest thing
Come to death and follow me.
Bring away the merchant who made his money in France
And the crafty banker too
When you hear the piper, you and I must dance
The dance that everyone must do.
Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.
I'll find you in the courtrooms, I'll find you in the schools
When you hear the piper play
I'll take away the wise men, I'll take away the fools
And bring their bodies all to clay.
All the politicians of high and low degree
Lords and ladies, great and small
Don't think that you'll escape and need not dance with me
I'll make you come when I do call.
Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.
It may be in the day, it may be in the night
Prepare yourselves to dance and pray
That when the piper plays ‘The Shaking of the Sheets’
You may to Heaven dance the way.
Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.
Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Playing, everyone must dance
The shaking of the sheets with me.
"Shaking of the Sheets" by Steeleye Span is a traditional song that talks about the inevitability of death and the dance that everyone must do with the piper. The song's lyrics metaphorically speak about the piper as a personification of death that would come for everyone, regardless of their social standing, wealth or age. The song narrates how the piper would take away the beggar, the king, the oldest, the youngest, the wise, and the fool alike, and how nobody could escape the dance with the piper when he plays the tune of "Shaking of the Sheets."
The "Shaking of the Sheets" is an old Scottish custom of shaking the sheets to get rid of the bed bugs before bedtime. However, the song's context re-purposes the phrase and uses it as a metaphor that implies shaking off this world's mortal coil before crossing the threshold to the afterlife. The song's final stanza paints the piper not as a menacing figure but rather as a guide who will lead the dancers into heaven if they prepare themselves to "dance and pray."
Line by Line Meaning
Dance, dance the shaking of the sheets
Let us all dance and participate in The Shaking of the Sheets.
Dance, dance when you hear the piper
Dance whenever the piper starts playing his music.
Playing, everyone must dance
The piper's music is so captivating that everyone feels compelled to dance.
The shaking of the sheets with me.
Join me in The Shaking of the Sheets dance.
Bring away the beggar, bring away the king
Everyone, regardless of their status, must be prepared to depart this world.
And every man in his degree
Whether high or low, each person must come to death eventually.
Bring away the oldest and the youngest thing
The cycle of life and death affects all living creatures without exception.
Come to death and follow me.
Death is inevitable and we must all follow its call.
Bring away the merchant who made his money in France
Even if one gains wealth and success, they cannot escape death.
And the crafty banker too
No matter how cunning or intelligent one may be, they will still face death.
When you hear the piper, you and I must dance
The piper's tune reminds us that death is universal and unavoidable.
The dance that everyone must do.
We must all face death and participate in The Shaking of the Sheets in the end.
I'll find you in the courtrooms, I'll find you in the schools
No matter where you may be in life, death will come for you.
When you hear the piper play
The piper's music is the signal that our time has come.
I'll take away the wise men, I'll take away the fools
All people are equal in the face of death; intelligence does not exempt us from it.
And bring their bodies all to clay.
Our bodies will return to the earth when we die.
All the politicians of high and low degree
Even those in positions of power cannot escape death.
Lords and ladies, great and small
No amount of wealth or social status can prevent one from facing death.
Don't think that you'll escape and need not dance with me
We cannot evade or ignore our mortality, we must face it head-on.
I'll make you come when I do call.
Death is inevitable and will take us all, regardless of our plans or desires.
It may be in the day, it may be in the night
Death can come at any time, unexpectedly or not.
Prepare yourselves to dance and pray
We must come to terms with our mortality and prepare ourselves for death.
That when the piper plays ‘The Shaking of the Sheets’
When we hear the signal that death is near, we must be ready.
You may to Heaven dance the way.
We should strive to live a good life so that we may rest in paradise after death.
Contributed by Declan K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ben - Moderator
on Bonny Moorhen
Hi Stuart, We have corrected the description above.
Stuart Tartan
on Bonny Moorhen
This description of the song completely misses the point in every way. It IS NOT about a bird.
It is an allegorical Jacobite-era song about Bonny Prince Charlie (the bonny moorhen). The colours mentioned, for instance, are the colours of the Clan Stuart tartan.