All Through The Night

Album: Welsh Melodies (1862)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is based on a famous Welsh harp melody "Ar Hyd Y Nos", which can be dated to c1800 but is probably much older. While "Men Of Harlech" nearly became the Welsh National Anthem, "All Through The Night" has often been mistaken for it; that honor though belongs to "Land Of My Fathers."

    The English version is often set to a lullaby by Harold Boulton, this might be called the popular version, but there are other sets of lyrics. The 1862 publication Welsh Melodies contains an English version by T. Oliphant.
  • Contemporary recordings have been made among others by Nana Mouskouri, and Sheryl Crow, who rewrote the lyrics from her own perspective (of an itinerant musician). >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments: 1

  • Frederic from VirginiaThe English lyricxs were written by Edward Jones around 1784. Mr. Jones was an exceptional harp player. He moved from Wales to London in the 1770's where he taught and performed harp music. His talent soon had him tutoring wealthy families and he ultimately moved into the St. James Palace as the official harpist for the Prince of Wales.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Strange Magnetics

Strange MagneticsSong Writing

How Bing Crosby, Les Paul, a US Army Signal Corps Officer, and the Nazis helped shape rock and Roll.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Black Sabbath

Black SabbathFact or Fiction

Dwarfs on stage with an oversize Stonehenge set? Dabbling in Satanism? Find out which Spinal Tap-moments were true for Black Sabbath.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

Bryan Adams

Bryan AdamsSongwriter Interviews

What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.

David Sancious

David SanciousSongwriter Interviews

Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.