We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Rest Your Weary Head (A Song for Potterhanworth)

by Duir!

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £1 GBP  or more

     

about

The good people of Potterhanworth – a Lincolnshire hamlet above the Car Dyke on the eastern edge of the Lincoln Heath – requested DUIR! to write a song about their village in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

We were happy to oblige.

The song tells of the history of the village including the Culfrey Bell which rang out, signalling safe-haven for travellers to rest their weary heads.

It is told, that in the fourteenth or fifteenth century, one such traveller was so taken by the charity offered upon him by the village he purchased a piece of land and thus, the future proceeds generated from this plot, would be put to charitable use: the bell was to be rung at sunset each day and the establishment of a charity - the Culfrey Trust - to provide charity for the village. There are still two Culfrey bungalows in the village today which provide homes for elderly residents.

The village of Potterhanworth remains to this day, a charitable and tranquil haven on the eastern fringe of the wild, Lincoln Heath.

lyrics

Heathen trails - a potter’s tale - we’re on the road - again
The heath is not, a place to dwell, when evening light descends
A traveller on the road - a distant tolling bell
Brings solace from the night my friend, so rest your weary head

Windmill sails – forgotten tales - we cross the dyke - ascend
I seek a plume from a golden goose to make the finest quill
To write of things that make no sense – of vestiges untold
They gifted us the potter’s wheel, so rest your weary head

So, rest your weary head – so, rest your weary head
No need to run – no need to hide – take charity ‘till morning light
So, rest your weary head – so, rest your weary head
The legacy of the ringing bell will save lost souls from dread
We raise a glass - we doff our cap - to the Culfrey Charity
So, rest your weary head

Behold the ‘Wild Service Tree’ – the berries on the - bush
The greyhounds on our coat of arms, provoke our wanderlust
For beyond the Barff, another world – a Roman dyke in flood
So, stranger take the Low Road, and rest your weary head

So, rest your weary head – so, rest your weary head
So, rest your weary head – so, rest your weary head
So, rest your weary head – so, rest your weary head
No need to run – no need to hide – take charity ‘till morning light
So, rest your weary head – so, rest your weary head
The legacy of the ringing bell will save lost souls from dread
We raise a glass - to Dr Smith – in the crowded ‘Chequers Tree’
We raise a glass - we doff our cap - to the Culfrey Charity
So, rest your weary head.

credits

released May 18, 2022
Composed by: Stephen Coalwood/Terry Welbourn © Songs from the Oak 2022.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Duir! Nottingham, UK

DUIR! is a musical collective based in the East Midlands, UK that utilise spoken word, music and song to bring alive the folk memories of Lincolnshire and its environs. Their inspiration stems from myths, legends, folk-tales and topographic features of this rural country.
DUIR! comprise of, Simon Brighton, Stephen Coalwood and Terry Welbourn.

DUIR! photo by Andy Weekes
... more

contact / help

Contact Duir!

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

Duir! recommends:

If you like Duir!, you may also like: