The Classic Richard Thompson Lyric That Cleverly Worked Its Way Around a Spiritual Leader’s Ultimatum

Limitations don’t necessarily have to hamstring a songwriter. Instead, the best writers can either work around them or even find ways to be creative within them. Perhaps they can even come up with something they wouldn’t have otherwise with no restraints.

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Richard Thompson came up with what sounds like a touching ode to love and dependency on “Dimming Of The Day”, a song he released with then-wife Linda in 1975. Few realized that he was writing it to satisfy a spiritual mentor’s insistence on faith-based material.

Dreaming Up “Dimming”

If the spiritual guru of Richard and Linda Thompson had his way in 1975, Richard and Linda Thompson’s 1975 album Pour Down Like Silver might not have happened at all. It was the third LP for the married duo. They had gained critical raves for their first two efforts, thanks to Richard’s songwriting and lyrical guitar work and Linda’s heartfelt vocals.

It was around that time that the Thompsons had joined the Sufi faith. Their spiritual leader was concerned that their musical pursuits contradicted the tenets of the religion. A compromise was reached that the songs that the duo recorded for the album should be as faith-related as possible.

Richard Thompson came up with “Dimming Of The Day” as a way of satisfying this demand. And he did it in clever enough fashion that you can listen to it a million times and not realize that it’s technically referencing a higher power.

It helps that it’s one of the loveliest, tenderest melodies that Richard ever wrote. The arrangement plays into it, with Richard on banjo and some woodwinds gently forming the perimeter of the sound. Linda’s vocals are aching and pretty in the verses, while Richard comes in for supportive harmonies in the middle eight.

Examining the Lyrics of “Dimming Of The Day”

“Dimming Of The Day” is relatable to anyone who’s ever hit a rough patch and needs to give themselves over to some sort of redemptive force, whether that’s a person or a higher power. It begins with some bluesy complaints. “This old house is falling down around my ears,” Linda sings. “I’m drowning in a river of my tears.”

Later, she laments the distance that’s grown between her and her saving grace. “What days have come to keep us far apart?” she wonders. “A broken promise or a broken heart?” She also worries that she’s being left out of the equation: “I see you on the street in company/Why don’t you come and ease your mind with me?”

The middle eights allow her to give testimony to the benefits of this relationship. “You pull me like the moon pulls on the tide,” she says. She calls out to them for succor: “Come the night, you’re only what I want/Come the night, you could be my confidant.”

The title phrase is so gently potent, as it represents that moment when one is at their most vulnerable and most in need of love’s transcendent power. “Now all the bonny birds have wheeled away,” Linda sings with pain streaking her voice. “I need you at the dimming of the day.”

Many wonderful singers have covered “Dimming Of The Day” over the years. But it’s hard to top the original, with Linda and Richard finding ways to reference their own connection even under strict orders to make the song a prayer.

Photo by Brian Cooke/Redferns