2 American/Swedish indie-pop duo … Read Full Bio ↴1 English folk band from the mid-1960s
2 American/Swedish indie-pop duo signed to Matinée Recordings in 2003
1. The 1960s Young Tradition apparently was formed by chance when Peter Bellamy and Royston Wood met when they were camping on a friend's floor, and started making harmonies together. Heather Wood (no relation to Royston) ran into them at a folk club and just joined in from the audience. Their harmonies, owe much to The Copper Family , but also came from their other musical loves. For Royston, it was classical music. For Heather, it was the Everly Brothers and years of school and church choirs.
2. The more recent Young Tradition consists of Californian-based songwriter Brent Kenji of The Guild League and Swedish musician Erik Hanspers, collaborating remotely through the post and the internet.
They have released an EP, California Morning, and an album, Northern Drive, on Matinée Recordings.
Lyke Wake Dirge
The Young Tradition Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
And Christe receive thy saule.
When thou from hence away art past,
Every nighte and alle,
To Whinny-Muir thou com'st at last;
If ever thou gavest hosen and shoen,
Every nighte and alle,
Sit thee down and put them on;
And Christe receive thy saule.
If hosen and shoen thou ne'er gav'st nane
Every nighte and alle,
The whinnes sall prick thee to the bare bane;
And Christe receive thy saule.
From Whinny-muir when thou mayst pass,
Every nighte and alle,
To Brig o' Dread thou com'st at last;
And Christe receive thy saule.
From Brig o' Dread when thou mayst pass,
Every nighte and alle,
To Purgatory fire thou com'st at last;
And Christe receive thy saule.
If ever thou gavest meat or drink,
Every nighte and alle,
The fire sall never make thee shrink;
And Christe receive thy saule.
If meat or drink thou ne'er gav'st nane,
Every nighte and alle,
The fire will burn thee to the bare bane;
And Christe receive thy saule.
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
And Christe receive thy saule.
The Young Tradition's song Lyke Wake Dirge is a traditional song that tells the story of a person's journey after death. The lyrics are a combination of a prayer for the soul of a deceased person and a warning for the living. The song is written in an old English dialect and uses archaic words like "ae" for one, "nighte" for night, "soul" for soul, and "sall" for shall, which gives it a timeless quality.
The song starts with the repetition of "This ae nighte, this ae nighte, every nighte and alle, fire and fleet and candle-lighte, and Christe receive thy saule". This phrase is a prayer and a warning to the living to be ready for death, which can come at any time. The next verse talks about the journey of the soul after death. The soul is said to travel to a place called Whinny-Muir, which is described as a desolate and lonely place. If the deceased person was kind and gave clothes and shoes to the poor, they will have the comfort of those clothes in Whinny-Muir. If they did not give any clothes, they will be pricked by thorns.
The song goes on to describe the journey from Whinny-Muir to Brig o' Dread, which is a bridge of dread. From Brig o' Dread, the soul goes to Purgatory fire. The fire is said to be less painful if the deceased person gave food and drink to the poor during their lifetime. If not, the fire will burn them to the bone. The song ends with the repetition of the first verse, which is a reminder that death can come at any time, and the soul is in need of divine protection.
Line by Line Meaning
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
On this one single night, on this one single night,
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
Fires and fast movement and candle light,
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
When thou from hence away art past,
When you have passed away from this world,
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
To Whinny-Muir thou com'st at last;
You finally arrive at Whinny-Muir;
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
If ever thou gavest hosen and shoen,
If you ever gave socks and shoes,
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
Sit thee down and put them on;
Sit down and put them on;
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
If hosen and shoen thou ne'er gav'st nane
If you never gave socks and shoes
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
The whinnes sall prick thee to the bare bane;
The thorns will prick you to the bone;
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
From Whinny-muir when thou mayst pass,
When you pass from Whinny-Muir,
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
To Brig o' Dread thou com'st at last;
You finally arrive at the Bridge of Dread;
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
From Brig o' Dread when thou mayst pass,
When you pass from the Bridge of Dread,
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
To Purgatory fire thou com'st at last;
You finally arrive at the fires of Purgatory;
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
If ever thou gavest meat or drink,
If you ever gave food or drink,
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
The fire sall never make thee shrink;
The fire will never make you flinch;
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
If meat or drink thou ne'er gav'st nane,
If you never gave food or drink,
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
The fire will burn thee to the bare bane;
The fire will burn you to the bone;
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
On this one single night, on this one single night,
Every nighte and alle,
Every night and completely
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
Fires and fast movement and candle light,
And Christe receive thy saule.
And Christ receive your soul.
Contributed by Tristan T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@chewie481
love it
edit: Quickly wrote down a modified version of the lyrics, as they're actually sung here and as I understand them as a non-native english speaker. Maybe "any night and a' " should end with an l, i think they actually sing it. They also sing "Fire and Fleet" and not "sleet". The beginning might also be "There's ae night".
This ae night, this ae night
Any night and a'
Fire and fleet and candle lighte
And christ receive thy saule
if thou from here away doest past
Any night and a'
To whinny moor thou com'st at last
And christ receive thy saule
If thou gav'st ever hosen or shoon
Any night and a'
Then sittee doon and put them on
And christ receive thy saule
But if hosen or shoon thou ne'er gav'st nane
Any night and a'
The whinnie will prick thee to thy bare bane
And christ receive thy saule
If thou from there away doest pass
Any night and a'
To Purgatry fire thou com'st at last.
And christ receive thy saule
If thou gav'st ever meat or drink
Any night and a'
The fire will never make thee shrink
And christ receive thy saule
But if meat or drink thou gavest nane
Any night and a'
The fire will burn thee to thy bare bane.
And christ receive thy saule
@ceresmary206
THIS ae nighte, this ae nighte,
—Refrain: Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
—Refrain: And Christe receive thy saule.
When thou from hence away art past
To Whinny-muir thou com'st at last
If ever thou gavest hosen and shoon,
Sit thee down and put them on;
If hosen and shoon thou ne'er gav'st nane
The whinnes sall prick thee to the bare bane.
From Whinny-muir when thou may'st pass,
To Brig o' Dread thou com'st at last;
From Brig o' Dread when thou may'st pass,
To Purgatory fire thou com'st at last;
If ever thou gavest meat or drink,
The fire sall never make thee shrink;
If meat or drink thou ne'er gav'st nane,
The fire will burn thee to the bare bane;
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
—Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
—And Christe receive thy saule.
Note: ae: one; hosen: stockings; shoon: shoes; whinnes: thorns; bane: bone; brig: bridge
there ye go!
@redwoods7370
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
(Refrain:) —Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
(Refrain:) And Christe receive thy saule.
When thou from hence away art past,
To Whinny-muir thou com'st at last;
If ever thou gavest hosen and shoon,
Sit thee down and put them on;
If hosen and shoon thou ne'er gav'st nane
The whinnes sall prick thee to the bare bane;
From Whinny-muir when thou may'st pass,
To Brig o' Dread thou com'st at last;
From Brig o' Dread when thou may'st pass,
To Purgatory fire thou com'st at last;
If ever thou gavest meat or drink,
The fire sall never make thee shrink;
If meat or drink thou ne'er gav'st nane,
The fire will burn thee to the bare bane;
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
—Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
And Christe receive thy saule.[5]
@spudeleven5124
I was in Germany visiting the home of a British lady friend when I first heard this on her LP. Brought tears to my eyes, so it did.
@ChrisSmith-xh9wb
I remember being totally blown away when I heard them sing live back in 1966. Three unique voices, totally contrasting yet complementing each other to produce raw, powerful harmonies, the like of which has not been heard before or since. Thank God they managed to lay down three albums before going their separate ways and (in the case of Peter and Royston) sadly passing on.
@naradaian
Thank you, i have all their albums and was smitten from the moment i heard them...and still am....this is my favourite piece by them ...the short 'Roll away the Stone' attributed to Robert Johnson on the sleeve notes is also idiosyncratic and powerful but lamentably brief..
@mouldybear
I got this from my stepmother Nan (nee Spence) who heard it from an old Scots lady, Peggy Richards. The tune she sang was probably printed in "Songs Of The North" by Robert Boulton in 1909 and unconsciously changed by me into a more folk like tune. I taught it to The Young Tradition claiming no copyright. Subsequently sung by Pentangle etc.
@slydoll7877
No way! I hope you read this though it's a long time since you made the comment. I'd love to talk more about your experiences....
@Wotsitorlabart
@@slydoll7877
The tune was actually written by Harold Boulton and published in 1895.
@naradaian
Its my favourite rendition and always has been- thank yo for giving it to YT..... i have been in touch with Heather over the years.....are any of us still alive....? Glory be for tis song
@numoherisson1656
@wotsit: this particular transcription of the lyrics may have been set down as you say, but being a traditional dirge from Yorkshire, there are a lot of variants per the lyrics. That's usual when things are handed down in the way this song has been.
There are some excellent sources on the internet for this and much more. Mudcat is one, from back in the days of listervs.
@agricolaest
Lots of great folk rock groups have recorded this, but this is my favorite performance.
@EdiDrums
A must-hear version, for comparison, is by Tootlin' Geoff - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGQG0MncMCg