Meet on the Ledge

John Martyn, Fairport Convention

About Meet on the Ledge

"Meet on the Ledge" is a song by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in 1968. It was their second single. The song was taken from the album What We Did on Our Holidays. They had performed "Meet on the Ledge" on the 1969 launch of From the Roundhouse (a short-lived BBC television youth and arts programme about the London "underground scene"). The vocals were performed by Sandy Denny and Iain Matthews. The song's title comes from a large, low-hanging tree limb on which Richard Thompson used to play as a child, and which he and his friends had dubbed "The Ledge". Thompson has acknowledged that some people interpret "the ledge" as some sort of code for the afterlife and that it is popular at funerals. In an interview with Mojo magazine in March 2011, Thompson said: "The hardest thing about being a 17-year-old songwriter is that you're embarrassed - you're never going to write a song saying, 'These are my feelings, I love you.' So I was trying to find some semi-veiled language that conveyed something to somebody somehow but which didn't really say anything up front. It's a slightly naïve song, a little obscure. I don't even know what it means ... I had to sing it at my own mother's funeral. It was in her will. That's about the hardest thing I've ever done". The song has become Fairport Convention's unofficial anthem. At their concerts, including the ongoing Cropredy Festival, it is often performed as the last song and a signal to fans that there will be no more encores. A listeners poll for BBC Radio 2 placed the song at number 17 in the station's Sold On Song Top 100 songs. Thompson re-recorded the song as a bonus track on his solo album Small Town Romance. Fairport Convention re-recorded the song in 1987, releasing it as a track on the album In Real Time: Live '87 and as a single to tie in with the band's 20th anniversary. Of the latter release, band member Ric Sanders quipped at the time "We're going to release it every 20 years until it's a hit". The title has been used for a compilation album by Fairport Convention and a book about them. It is the first track on the 1972 compilation History of Fairport Convention. 


Year:
1969
2:50
315 
#3

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We used to say "there'd come the day, we'd all be making songs
Or finding better words" these ideas never lasted long

The way is up along the road, the air is growing thin
Too many friends who tried, blown off this mountain with the wind

Meet on the ledge, we're gonna meet on the ledge
When my time is up, I'm gonna see all my friends
Meet on the ledge, we're gonna to meet on the ledge
If you really mean it, it all comes around again

Yet now I see, I'm all alone, but that's the only way to be
You'll have your chance again, then you can do the work for me

Meet on the ledge, we're gonna meet on the ledge
When my time is up, I'm gonna see all my friends
Meet on the ledge, we're gonna meet on the ledge
If you really mean it, it all comes around again

Meet on the ledge, we're gonna meet on the ledge
When my time is up, I'm gonna see all my friends
Meet on the ledge, we're gonna meet on the ledge
If you really mean it, it all comes around again

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Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement. Their seminal album Liege & Lief is generally considered to have launched the electric folk or English folk rock movement, which provided a distinctively English identity to rock music and helped awaken much wider interest in traditional music in general. The large number of personnel who have been part of the band are among the most highly regarded and influential musicians of their era and have gone on to participate in a large number of significant bands, or enjoyed important solo careers. Since 1979 they have hosted the Cropred… more »

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Written by: Richard John Thompson

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


13 facts about this song

Song Origin
"Meet on the Ledge" is one of the most famous songs by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention. It was written by Richard Thompson, one of the founding members of the band.
Song's Theme
The song symbolizes a place where friends reunite after separating from their earthly connections, presenting a deeply emotional theme of parting and reunion.
Album Information
"Meet on the Ledge" appears on Fairport Convention's second album "What We Did on Our Holidays," which was released in 1969.
Sandy Denny's Role
It features vocals by folk-rock singer Sandy Denny, who was also a member of Fairport Convention.
Second Single
The song was the band's second single, helping them gain popularity in the British folk-rock scene.
Song's Legacy
"Meet on the Ledge" has become a signature song for Fairport Convention and is typically performed as the closing number of their concerts.
Cover Versions
The song has been covered by several other artists, including Scottish rock band GUN, English folk singer Ralph McTell, and the American band Counting Crows.
Cultural Impact
The song has gained cultural significance, with fans gathering yearly at the Fairport Convention reunion festival in Cropredy, Oxfordshire, where they enthusiastically sing along to 'Meet on the Ledge'.
Influence on Richard Thompson
Though Richard Thompson was only 17 years old when he wrote it, he credits the song as being transformative to his writing approach, leading him onto a path of deeper, more introspective songwriting.
Original Interpretation
Initially, Thompson wrote the song with the idea of adolescent friendships and how they tend to fade away with time. However, over the years, the song's meaning has broadened and become more spiritual.
Die-hard Fan Tradition
Fans of the band often shout "Ledge!" during Fairport Convention concerts as a request for this popular song to be performed.
Richard Thompson's Solo Performances
Richard Thompson occasionally includes "Meet on the Ledge" in his solo concert performances, honoring his time with Fairport Convention.
Use in Television
The song was used in the closing credits of the BBC Four documentary Folk Britannia in 2006, focusing on the history of folk music in Britain.

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