Twelve Days of Christmas

Day 8 - Levy-Dew

Levy-Dew is a Welsh folk song originating from Pembrokeshire. This New Year's carol was sung as boys sprinkled water, freshly drawn from the well, around the town as a way of blessing the households. There are competing theories as to the meaning of Levy-dew; perhaps the most convincing is that it is a corruption of the French Levez à Dieu, meaning “raise to God” - referring to the raising of the Host at Holy Communion. Or it could be a version of the Welsh phrase llef ar Dduw “a call to God”. Benjamin Britten set the tune in 1934.

Here we bring new water from the well so clear,

For to worship God with, this happy New Year.

Sing levy-dew, sing levy-dew, the water and the wine,

The seven bright gold wires and the bugles that do shine.

O Sing reign of Fair Maid, with gold upon her toe;

Open you the West Door and turn the Old Year go.

Sing levy-dew, sing levy-dew, the water and the wine,

The seven bright gold wires and the bugles that do shine.

O Sing reign of Fair Maid, with gold upon her chin;

Open you the East Door and let the New Year in. 

Sing levy-dew, sing levy-dew, the water and the wine,

The seven bright gold wires and the bugles that do shine.

Levy-Dew - arr. Benjamin Britten / The Cambridge Singers

Levy-Dew - Matthew Todd, voice and harp