Lo for the tiding of the Long Night Moon
Let the sunrise call about the morning soon
Short is the biding of the fading light
Sing for the coming of the longest night
North wind tell us what we need to know
When the stars are shining on the midnight snow
All of the branches will be turned to white
Sing for the coming of the longest night
A winter day, the summer grass turned hay
Frost in the field ‘til the dawn of May
A summer’s light never shone as great or as bright
So dance in the shadows of a winter’s night
Lo for the tiding of the Long Night Moon
May the harvest last until the springtime bloom
Home is our comfort at the winter’s height
Sing for the coming of the longest night
All of the colours of the sunrise sky
Shine a light upon us, as the day goes by
Sunsetting shadows fading out of sight
Sing for the coming of the longest night
A winter day, the summer grass turned hay
Frost in the field ‘til the dawn of May
A summer’s light never shone as great or as bright
So dance in the shadows of a winter’s night
Nigel Eaton composed the Halsway Schottisch as a tune for hurdy gurdy and released it under an open access Creative Commons license, encouraging people to show off their versions and extend it further. Iain Frisk wrote the lyrics for The Halsway Carol version, which has been fairly widely recorded in England and Europe. Here's Tom's favorite:
A number of years ago, there was a website tracking the many amateur and professional versions of both the tune and carol. It is sadly defunct, although it has been preserved on Archive.org
Halsway Carol ~ Nigel Eaton & Iain Frisk
Lo for the tiding of the Long Night Moon Let the sunrise call about the morning soon Short is the biding of the fading light Sing for the coming of the longest night
North wind tell us what we need to know When the stars are shining on the midnight snow All of the branches will be turned to white Sing for the coming of the longest night
A winter day, the summer grass turned hay Frost in the field ‘til the dawn of May A summer’s light never shone as great or as bright So dance in the shadows of a winter’s night
Lo for the tiding of the Long Night Moon May the harvest last until the springtime bloom Home is our comfort at the winter’s height Sing for the coming of the longest night
All of the colours of the sunrise sky Shine a light upon us, as the day goes by Sunsetting shadows fading out of sight Sing for the coming of the longest night
A winter day, the summer grass turned hay Frost in the field ‘til the dawn of May A summer’s light never shone as great or as bright So dance in the shadows of a winter’s night
Nigel Eaton composed the Halsway Schottisch as a tune for hurdy gurdy and released it under an open access Creative Commons license, encouraging people to show off their versions and extend it further. Iain Frisk wrote the lyrics for The Halsway Carol version, which has been fairly widely recorded in England and Europe. Here's Tom's favorite:
Jackie Oates & John Spiers: https://youtu.be/jpwwO2kJOlg Jackie Oates Band with Nigel Eaton: https://youtu.be/6jyjqUMgEXc
A number of years ago, there was a website tracking the many amateur and professional versions of both the tune and carol. It is sadly defunct, although it has been preserved on Archive.org
https://web.archive.org/web/20220118110316/https://halsway.musicwebdesign.nl/
Tom has both a unison and a SATB setting of the carol if the group is interested.