Levy-Dew
Levy-Dew is also known as "A New Year Carol".
In Pembrookshire, children would collect water from a well and go around singing this song. They would take a sprig of evergreen, dip it in the water and sprinkle it on people's faces on New Year's Day. In return they would get money or treats.
"The 'levy dew' in the chorus may be a corruption of either Old English 'levedy' ('lady') or French 'Levez à Dieu' ('Raise to God'), used for the elevation of the host at communion." -New Year Carol / Residue
Levy-Dew
New Year's Song
Here we bring new water
From the well so clear,
For to worship God with,
This Happy New Year.
(Chorus)
Sing levy dew, sing levy dew,
The water and the wine,
With seven bright gold wires,
And bugles that do shine.
Sing reign of fair maid,
With gold upon her toe,
Open you the West Door
And turn the Old Year go.
(Chorus)
Sing reign of fair maid,
With gold upon her chin,
Open you the East Door
And let the New Year in.
(Chorus)
Notes
I found the following in "Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales" (1911) by Jonathan Ceredig Davies:
"Another interesting custom observed, especially in Pembrokeshire, on New Year's Day was for children to visit the houses in the morning about 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning with a vessel filled with spring water, fresh from the well and with the aid of a sprig of evergreen, sprinkled the faces of those they met, and at the same time singing as follows [lyrics above]...
When the children entered into a house, it was customary for them to sprinkle every one of the family even in their beds with this fresh spring water, and they received a small fee for the performance."
Comments
Benjamin Britten set the De la Mare version of the song to music as 'A New Year Carol' in 1934." -Wikipedia
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Thanks and Acknowledgements
Photo: Monique Palomares
