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Midnight on the Water

[ Roud - ; words Ron Kavana, music Luke Thomasson]

Norma Waterson sang Midnight on the Water in 1994 on Waterson:Carthy’s eponymous debut album Waterson:Carthy. Nancy Kerr and Jock Tyldesley play fiddle. Martin Carthy noted:

I don’t suppose for one minute that Ron Kavana was the first to write [to think of writing?] a song around the Texas waltz Midnight on the Water, but he was the first to actually do it, and lovely it is too. We did it fairly suddenly at the Bude Folk Festival with Nancy Kerr and Jock Tyldesley of the Flatville Aces, and we did it again in the studio and here it is.

Lyrics

Norma Waterson sings Midnight on the Water

I never thought much of that fancy dancing
With my two left feet and my roving eye.
But when the band plays that slow air in three-four time,
I could dance with my darling until morning comes.

Chorus:
Play me a fiddle tune, sing me a song!
Banish misfortune, my time is not long!
Midnight on the water, so steady and slow.
The lark in the morning, one more for the road.
Midnight on the water, so steady and slow.
Let’s have another drink and set them up Joe.

Well, I’ve done all my dancing down in those bar-rooms.
Dancing and drinking they go hand in glove.
So give a beer to the fiddler, and play all the old tunes
So I can dance closer to the one that I love!

2 × Chorus

Acknowledgements

Transcribed from the singing of Norma Waterson by aldus and sent to Mudcat, then sent to Garry Gillard by Wolfgang Hell. Thanks to Jim Dixon for “the lark” correction.