The Houghton Weavers are an English folk music band formed in 1975 in Westh… Read Full Bio ↴The Houghton Weavers are an English folk music band formed in 1975 in Westhoughton, in the borough of Bolton in Lancashire, England. The current three band members are David Littler (acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, banjo-ukulele, bouzouki, piano accordion and vocals), Steve Millington (bass guitar, keyboards, acoustic guitar, piano accordion and vocals) and Tony Berry (lead vocalist).

David Littler and Tony Berry are both founder members of the band, whilst Steve Millington joined in 1996.

Previous members are Norman Prince (1975 to 1999, 6 string acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar, bass guitar and vocals), John Oliver (1975 to 1976 vocals), Denis Littler (1976 to 1984 bass guitar and vocals) and Jeff Hill (1984 to 1996 and 1999 to 2007 bass Guitar, 6 string acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar, electric guitar and vocals)

They sing mainly English folk music, much of it in Lancashire dialect, and demonstrate an eclectic range of song subjects including "The Blackpool Belle", "Uncle Joe’s Mintballs" and "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" (a biographical song about the painter L. S. Lowry).

They are best known for their BBC T.V. show "Sit Thi Deawn" (a Lancashire colloquial corruption of "Sit You Down"; referring to the supposed hospitality of Lancashire people). The programme ran for six series or seven years and was a mixture of easy listening music and comedy for a local audience[1]. The group also starred in six of their own series for BBC Radio 2.

The Keeper
The Houghton Weavers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

One morning when the world was new and first we saw the sun,
The Lord lay down to rest a while so pleased with what He'd done.
And of all the creatures He had made He loved man the best
And so He placed into his hands the fate of all the rest.
And all these things I give to you to keep and to protect.
From the greatest of the big blue whale to the tiniest insect.
To rule with love and kindness the weak, the wild, the strong.
And treat My creatures gently only you know right from wrong.

But man was so conceited he couldn't see the worth
Of all the other creatures that shared this lovely earth
And one by one he hunted them for food and sport and greed
One by one they disappeared each species and each breed
And all these things I give to you to keep and to protect.
From the greatest of the big blue whale to the tiniest insect.
To rule with love and kindness the weak, the wild, the strong.
And treat My creatures gently only you know right from wrong.
After many years had passed the Lord came back to see
Men and all the others that He'd left so fine and free
But where are all My silver streams and forests dark and green?
There was only dust and desert wherever man had been
And all these things I give to you to keep and to protect.
From the greatest of the big blue whale to the tiniest insect.
To rule with love and kindness the weak, the wild, the strong.
And treat My creatures gently only you know right from wrong.
"Where are all my animals the Hippo and the Whale
And the fish that filled the oceans before your ships set sail
The Lion and the Tiger and the Elephants so tall
I left you as their keeper, do you not recall?"
"That all these things I gave to you, to keep and to protect,
From the greatest of the big blue whale to the tiniest insect.
To rule with love and kindness the weak, the wild, the strong.
And treat My creatures gently only you know right from wrong."
"And all these things, I gave to you, to keep and to protect,
From the greatest of the big blue whale to the tiniest insect.
To rule with love and kindness the weak, the wild, the strong.

And treat My creatures gently
Only you... know right... from wrong..."

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Houghton Weavers' song, The Keeper, convey a powerful message about humanity's responsibility to care for and protect the planet and all its inhabitants. The song alludes to the creation story, where God tasked humans with being keepers of the earth, animals and all living things. The lyrics suggest that man has failed in this obligation by acting selfishly, destroying the environment and decimating animal populations. The Lord, upon returning to the earth, finds nothing but devastation and wonders where all the animals, forests and oceans have gone. The song calls on humans to rule with love and kindness, to recognize and honor their responsibility, and to treat all living things gently.

Line by Line Meaning

One morning when the world was new and first we saw the sun,
In the beginning of time, as the sun first rose, God felt proud of his creation.

The Lord lay down to rest a while so pleased with what He'd done.
God felt pleased with everything he created and needed to rest.

And of all the creatures He had made He loved man the best
God loved humans more than any other creature.

And so He placed into his hands the fate of all the rest.
God gave humans the responsibility of taking care of all the other creatures on earth.

And all these things I give to you to keep and to protect.
God entrusted humans to safeguard his creation.

From the greatest of the big blue whale to the tiniest insect.
Humans were responsible for caring for creatures, both big and small.

To rule with love and kindness the weak, the wild, the strong.
Humans were supposed to rule with compassion towards all creatures on earth, regardless of their strength.

And treat My creatures gently only you know right from wrong.
Humans were entrusted to protect other creatures and guide them with empathy because they had the knowledge of right and wrong.

But man was so conceited he couldn't see the worth.
Humans became arrogant and failed to comprehend the significance of caring for his fellow beings.

Of all the other creatures that shared this lovely earth
Humans failed to understand the interdependency of all creatures on earth.

And one by one he hunted them for food and sport and greed
Humans started to hunt and exploit other creatures for selfish reasons.

One by one they disappeared each species and each breed
Due to continuous hunting, many species started to go extinct, and biodiversity on earth started to decrease.

After many years had passed the Lord came back to see
Years later, God returned to check on the earth and what humans had done to his creation.

Men and all the others that He'd left so fine and free
God came to check upon humans and other creatures he created, who were free and living in harmony earlier.

But where are all My silver streams and forests dark and green?
God was disappointed as there were no more forests and rivers left.

There was only dust and desert wherever man had been
Due to human activities like deforestation and exploitation, nature had turned into deserts and barren places.

Where are all my animals the Hippo and the Whale
God questioned where all the animals he created like Hippo and whale had gone.

And the fish that filled the oceans before your ships set sail
God questioned where all the fish in the ocean went, that were there before humans started sailing ships.

The Lion and the Tiger and the Elephants so tall
God questioned where all the majestic creatures like Lions and Elephants and Tiger had gone.

I left you as their keeper, do you not recall?
God reminded humans of their responsibility as keepers and caretakers of all creatures on earth.

And all these things, I gave to you, to keep and to protect,
God had entrusted humans to safeguard his creation.

Only you... know right... from wrong...
Humans had the power of distinguishing between right and wrong, thus obliged to take care of others with empathy.

Contributed by Mason S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS