"May you never lay your head down without a hand to hold / May you never make your bed out in the cold."
A perfect folk song of brotherly affection, with simply voice and guitar, John's Martyn's May You Never has captured listeners' hearts since 1971.
John Martyn was born in Surrey in 1948 and grew up in Glasgow. Part of the potent London folk scene in the late 60s early 70s, John's style evolved from these folk roots. Written in his early 20s, the enduring version of May You Never was recorded in one take in the early hours of recording his beloved 1973 album, Solid Air. The lyrics encapsulate something of the essence of John Martyn: sweet, joyful and affectionate, yet with a hint of danger ("And may you never lose your temper / If you get in a bar room fight"). John's life was beset by substance abuse and addiction and he died in 2009, age 60.
May You Never, perhaps his most famous song, is remembered by those whose lives became entwined with the song, and by others who knew John or have covered it.
Featuring: Michael Volpe, Executive Director of If Opera; Lauren Bensted, a writer based in London; Graeme Thomson, author of Small Hours: The Long Night of John Martyn; Spencer Cozens, keyboard player and Musical Director in John Martyn's band from 1990-2009; Blythe Pepino, Kit Hawes, Pete Josef and Sam Brookes from The John Martyn Project.
With thanks to Kit Hawes and Spencer Cozens for the instrumental recordings.
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0:43.7 | May you never. |
0:47.4 | It's like a warm, soft blanket and a gorgeous melody |
0:49.1 | and a really sort of emotional plea. |
0:53.6 | And may you never greet and strong brother. pro-manager and I have always loved, may you never. |
1:16.6 | In particular, because it reminds me of one of my three brothers, Matt. |
1:26.6 | I can remember being nine or ten when I first heard John Martin. |
1:33.1 | And I think it wasn't much long after that I first went with my oldest brother to go and see him. |
1:38.1 | So it was probably around the time of 1974, 75. |
1:45.0 | And I think by then, May you never had been out a couple of years on Solidair. |
1:50.0 | We were of Italian family. My parents came from Italy and dad had wandered off down the road. |
1:57.0 | And mum had four boys in a small flat in Fulham to look after on her own. |
2:05.3 | Matt was four years older than me. |
2:11.5 | Good looking, really liked to dress, really good at football. |
2:16.2 | Bit of a naughty kid, always getting into scrapes |
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