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The Unquiet Grave

from Memento Mori EP by Death and the Dancer

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about

Dating from around 1400 and an England still reeling from the Black Death, this song deals in the timeless grief and the despair that surrounds the death of a loved one. Although rooted in ancient superstitions about excessive grief, the song’s frank statement of the challenging necessity to live on is painfully relevant today. It has long been sung in North America too, and was included by Francis James Child in his 1868 collection of English and Scottish ballads and their American descendants. Renowned for its rather dark subject matter, Child’s collection remains among the most significant sources for English and Scottish popular balladry

lyrics

Cold blows the wind o'er my true love,
Cold blow the drops of rain,
I only had but one true love,
And in green wood she lies slain,
I will do as much for my true love,
As any young man may,
I will go and weep upon her grave,
For a twelve months and a day.

Well the twelve months and a day being o'er,
The dead began to speak,
Saying who sits and weeps upon my grave,
And doesn't let me sleep?
'Tis I that sits upon your grave,
'Tis I can't let you sleep,
For I crave one kiss of your cold dead lips,
And that is all I seek.

Well you crave one kiss of my cold dead lips,
Though my breath is deathly strong,
But if you kiss these cold dead lips,
Your days will not be long,
Cold though your lips in death my love,
One kiss is all I crave,
And I care's not if i kiss but thee,
That I should share your grave.

Oh 'tis down in yonder garden green,
Love, where we used to walk,
There fairest flower that e'er was seen,
Is withered to the stalk,
The stalk is withered dry my love,
So must our hearts decay,
So make yourself contented love,
'Til God calls you away.

The stalk is withered dry my love,
So must our hearts decay,
So make yourself contended love,
'Til god calls you away.

credits

from Memento Mori EP, released July 20, 2018

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Death and the Dancer Sheffield, UK

A fast-paced, foot-tapping blend of transatlantic folk music styles, drawing unlikely inspiration from the blood-soaked popular ballad tradition and the chilling ‘Danse Macabre’ imagery of medieval Europe. Come dance away your worldly cares; when Death scrapes the bow, all folk must dance. ... more

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