Lyke-Wake Dirge Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

The Lyke-Wake Dirge is a traditional ballad that tells a Christian tale of the soul's travel, and the hazards it faces, on its way from earth to Heaven. The song is written in an old form of the Yorkshire dialect of British English. It goes:

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THIS ae nighte, this ae nighte,
—Refrain: Every nighte and alle,
Fire and sleet 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 sleet and candle-lighte,
—And Christe receive thy saule.

Note: ae: one; hosen: stockings; shoon: shoes; whinnes: thorns; bane: bone; brig: bridge

The safety and comfort of the soul in faring over the hazards it faces in the afterlife, are in the old ballad made contingent on the dead person's willingness to participate in the sorts of charity mentioned in Matthew 25:31-46. The poem was first collected by John Aubrey in 1686, who also recorded that it was being sung in 1616, but it is believed to be much older.

There would appear to be a lacuna in the version that Aubrey collected. Unlike the preceding and following pairs of stanzas, nothing happens at the Brig o' Dread. Richard Blakeborough, in his Wit, Character, Folklore, and Customs of the North Riding, fills this apparent gap with verses he says were in use in 1800, and which seem likely to be be authentic:

If ivver thoo gav o' thy siller an' gowd,
At t' Brig o' Dreead thoo'll finnd foothod,

Bud if siller an' gowd thoo nivver gav nean,
Thoo'll doan, doon tum'le towards Hell fleames,

Note: siller: silver; gowd: gold; foothod: foothold

In this version, the Brig o' Dread is the decisive ordeal that determines whether the soul's destination is Heaven or Hell.

The poem has been recorded a number of times as a song. Benjamin Britten set it to music as a part of his Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings in 1943. The Pentangle performed a different version on their 1969 album Basket of Light. Most later renditions of the song use the Pentangle's melody; these include versions by Steeleye Span and the Mediaeval Baebes.

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