Midnight Waltz: line by line

As promised, I provide detailed explanation of the lyrics for “Midnight Waltz” track (Wilds Vol.1 collection), which has been uploaded to YouTube.

To begin with, the lyrics in full.

1. At Braeside Kirk, the fog cam’ doon,
And stitched the sky wi’ silver seam,
She sang beneath the hollow moon —
A spell to keep the bairn in dream.

Chorus:
Lie still, lie still, sae lang the nicht,
The lassies guard ye, pale and mild.
A whisper’s lantern, faint o’ light —
Shall lead ye back, my slumbering child.

2. The yew tree bends tae hear her song,
A croon sae low it stirs the clay.
Her sisters hum where shades belong—
And cradle stars that fell away.

Chorus.

The song is in Scots (even though it doesn’t prevent most of us from understanding it at once, even if we only read and speak English.

It looks like a lullaby, weird or not, out of thousands of them. But let’s delve into the meaning, line by line.

Verse 1

At Braeside Kirk, the fog cam’ doon,

Braeside Kirk: A rural church at the foot of a hill (brae). In Scots ghost lore, kirks with graveyards are liminal spaces where the living and dead may meet.
Fog: Often seen as a veil between worlds, allowing spirits or fae to cross over.

And stitched the sky wi’ silver seam,

Silver seam: Alludes to protective silver thread charms in Lowland superstition — a sewn “seam” sealing the night sky from harm.

She sang beneath the hollow moon —

Hollow moon: Waning or crescent moon, potent for charms, and sometimes considered a portal to the Otherworld.

A spell to keep the bairn in dream.

Bairn: Scots for child. Protective lullabies (often charms) were sung to prevent a child’s soul from being “taken” by fae or wandering spirits during sleep.

Chorus
Lie still, lie still, sae lang the nicht,

Sae lang the nicht: Traditional lullaby phrasing (sleep until day), reinforcing protective enchantment.

The lassies guard ye, pale and mild.

The lassies: Here likely supernatural female guardians — echoing faerie women or bean sìth who protect sleepers.

A whisper’s lantern, faint o’ light —

Lantern: Protective guiding light; “whisper’s lantern” evokes a spirit-light, guiding the dreamer’s soul home.

Shall lead ye back, my slumbering child.

Lead ye back: Ties to belief in dream-soul journeys — the idea that a sleeping person’s spirit could wander and must be safely returned.

Verse 2
The yew tree bends tae hear her song,

Yew tree: Sacred in Celtic and Scots tradition, planted in kirkyards as guardians of the dead; symbol of immortality.

A croon sae low it stirs the clay.

Clay: Grave-earth; the song’s power reaches the dead below. Crooning links to lullabies and funeral dirges (caoineadh).

Her sisters hum where shades belong—

Shades: Spirits of the dead; “sisters” could be other guardian spirits or a spectral choir.

And cradle stars that fell away.

Stars: In poetic Scots lore, stars can represent souls; “fallen stars” are lives lost, “cradling” them is sheltering the departed.

The subtle language of known images, especially if they are known to us since the early childhood, can help us to reach every listener much deeper and more thoroughly, leave a touch of something long known.

Do you use such subtle language? Well, OK - did you ever study your own lyrics thoroughly, to see more than rds can directly reveal?