> A.L. Lloyd > Songs > One Night As I Lay on My Bed
> Steeleye Span > Songs > One Night As I Lay on My Bed
> Shirley Collins > Songs > One Night As I Lay on My Bed
> Louis Killen > Songs > One Night As I Lay on My Bed
> Tony Rose > Songs > One Night As I Lay on My Bed

One Night As I Lay on My Bed

[ Roud 672 ; Ballad Index VWL079 ; trad.]

H.E.W. Hammond collected One Night As I Lay on My Bed in 1907 from Mrs. Marina Russell, Upwey, Dorset, and published in The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. In 1960, A.L. Lloyd recorded it unaccompanied for the album A Selection from the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. Like all tracks from this LP it was reissued in 2003 on the CD England & Her Traditional Songs. Lloyd wrote in the album's sleeve notes:

In folklore, songs may grow out of songs in mysterious fashion. This seems to be a straightforward night-visit piece, of the kind the Germans call Fensterlieder—“window songs”. But it exists in many variants which, put together, make a trail leading back to the situation in which an adulterous woman, pretending to sing her baby to sleep, actually converses with her lover through the door, warning him that her husband is at home (“the cuckoo's in his nest”). The poet Lorca has reported several North Spanish lullabies on this theme. Somewhere along the line, however, the irony was lost, the cuckold husband became mum and dad, and the song began new life as a romantic dialogue with a sweet ecstatic lift at the end. It was noted by H.E.D. Hammond from Mrs. Russell of Upwey, Dorset, in 1907.

Steeleye Span recorded this song in 1970 for their first album, Hark! The Village Wait with Maddy Prior and Gay Woods singing; Maddy was singing lead. The record's sleeve notes gave a different source:

Collected by H.E.D. Hammond from a Mr. House of Beauminster, Dorset, in 1906, this ballad can perhaps claim to have the most discreet ending of any folk song. Similar songs are quoted frequently in 16^th and early 17^th century literature, musical and otherwise; even Robert Burns re-wrote a version calling it As I Lay on My Bed on a Night. Ashley Hutchings: “This was one which I brought to the album. I first heard Ewan MacColl sing the song.”

The sleeve notes to Ewan MacColl's rendition on The Real MacColl confirms the origin as noted first:

H.E.D. Hammond collected this song at Upwey in Dorset in 1907. It is still fairly popular with Dorset and Hampshire gypsy singers. In Johnson's Scots Musical Museum there is a piece entitled As I Lay on My Bed on a Night and its three stanzas correspond with the first three in this Dorsetshire version. The notes in the museum suggest that there is a possible link with the Dowland's song, Go from My Window, Go, though a similar connection might be claimed for almost any night-visit song.

However, the comment to Roy Harris' rendition of this song on the Fellside CD A Selection from The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs clarifies the origin from two sources:

From Mrs. Russell, Upwey, Dorset, noted in 1907 by H.E.D. Hammond. This piece belongs to a sizeable family of night-visit songs. It is related to Go from My Window, Go quoted in Beaumont & Fletcher's Knight of the Burning Pestle (1613). Burns probably knew of two versions. There is a fragment from Sussex and a Somerset song, Arise You Drowsy Maiden is also related. From Stanza 2 onward, this text is from Mr. Howard of Beauminster, Dorset, called by Hammond in 1906.

Shirley Collins sang this song with a few more verses on her 1974 album Adieu to Old England. This track was also included in all four of her anthologies: A Favourite Garland, Fountain of Snow, Within Sound, and The Classic Collection. A.L. Lloyd commented in the original album's sleeve notes:

Ashley Hutchings recently turned up a version of this lovely song in the Janet Blunt mss. Shirley has used three verses as they were sung by a Mrs Nation of Baytree Cottage, Bathpool, Somerset, added to the version that is printed in The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs.

Louis Killen recorded One Night As I Lay on My Bed in 1989 for his cassette The Rose in June, Tony Rose recorded it in 1999 for his CD Bare Bones, and Patterson Jordan Dipper sang it on their album Flat Earth.

Jon Boden sang One Night As I Lay on My Bed as the June 27, 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. claiming Louis Killen as his source.

Lyrics

A.L. Lloyd sings One Night As I Lay on My Bed	Steeleye Span sing One Night As I Lay on My Bed
One night as I lay on my bed, I dreamed about a pretty maid. I was so distressed, I could take no rest; Love did torment me so. So away to my true love I did go.	One night as I lay on my bed, I dreamed about a pretty maid. I was so oppressed, I could take no rest; Love did torment me so. So away to my true love I did go.
But when I came to my love's window, I boldly called her by her name, Saying, “It was for your sake I'm come here so late, Through this bitter frost and snow, So it's open the window, my love, do.”	And when I came to my love's window, I boldly called her by her name, “For your sweet sake I'm come here this late, Through this bitter frost and snow, So open your window, my love, do.”
“My mam and dad they are both awake, And they will sure for to hear us speak. There'll be no excuse Then but sore abuse, Many a bitter word and blow. So begone from my window, my love, do.”	“My mam and dad they are both awake, And they will sure for to hear us speak. There'll be no excuse Then but sore abuse, Many a bitter word and blow. So begone from my window, my love, do.”
“Your mam and dad they are both asleep, They're sure not to hear us speak, For they're sleeping sound On their bed of down, And they draw they breath so low. So open the window, my love, do.”	“Your mam and dad they are both asleep, And they are sure not to hear us speak, They're sleeping sound On their bed of down, And they draw they breath so low. So open the window, my love, do.”
My lover rose and she opened the door, And just like an angel she stood on the floor. Her eyes shone bright Like the stars at night, And no diamonds could shine so. So in with my true love I did go.	My lover rose and she opened the door, And just like an angel she stood on the floor. Her eyes shone bright Like the stars at night, No diamonds could shine so. So in with my true love I did go.

Shirley Collins sings One Night As I Lay on My Bed	Tony Rose sings One Night As I Lay on My Bed
One night as I lay on my bed, I dreamed about a pretty maid. I was so distressed, I could take no rest; Love did torment me so. So away to my true love I did go.	One night as I lay on my bed, Oh, I dreamed about a pretty maid. I was so distressed, I could take no rest; Love did torment me so. So away to my true love I did go.
But when I came to my love's window, I boldly called her by her name, Saying, “It's for your sake I'm come here so late Through this bitter frost and snow. So it's open the window, my love, do.”	And it's when I came to my love's window, So boldly then I called her name, Saying, “It was for your sake I'm come here so late Through this bitter frost and snow. So open your window, my love, do.”
“My mam and dad are both awake And they are sure for to hear us speak. There'll be no excuse Then but sore abuse, Many bitter words and blows. So begone from my window, my love, do.”	“My mam and dad, they are both awake And they are sure for to hear us speak. There'll be no excuse Then but sore abuse, Many's the bitter word and blow. So begone from my window, my love, do.”
“Your mam and dad are both asleep And they are sure not to hear us speak, For they're lying sound On their bed of down, And they draw they breath so low. So open the window, my love, do.”	“Oh, your mam and dad they are both asleep, So they are sure not to hear us speak, They are sleeping sound On their bed of down And they draw they breath so low. So open the window, my love, do.”
My lover rose and she opened the door, Just like an angel standing before With her eyes shine bright And the stars gave light, No diamond dream shone so. So it's in with my true love I did go.	My lover rose and she opened the door And just like an angel she's stood there on the floor. Oh, her eyes shone bright Like the stars at night, No diamonds could shine so. So it's in with my true love I did go.
To the green bed I and my love did go. What we did there I'll not declare; No mortal man shall know Not so long as I this breath can draw. But as my love was coming down the stair, My father he chanced for to hear. Saying, “Who is there That makes such ado, Who choose a-rattling so?” And it's, “Hark, father, how the winds do blow.”