I've had a great time today, listening to various versions of this song. I find I have several versions right here, but I need help finding them because of the various names and versions of the song. You'll find lyrics to "Sleep On Mother, Sleep On" and lots of other information on this song in the thread titled Great Dream from Heaven (Joseph Spence). Grey Wolf's information on the Waterson-Carthy recording is all by itself in a generic thread, so I'll post a copy here.
-Joe Offer-

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Thread #17947   Message #177552
Posted By: Grey Wolf
13-Feb-00 - 08:46 AM
Thread Name: Tune Req: Your favorite WAKE tunes and Songs
Subject: Lyr Add: SLEEP ON, BELOVED^^

As Gervase has mentioned there's a cracking funeral song on the first, self titled Waterson:Carthy album.

They sing it unaccompanied, but I've included chords for anyone interested.

C                           F                           C
Sleep on beloved, sleep and take thy rest
                                   G     (C)           G
Lay down thy head upon thy Saviour's breast
F                                C
We love thee well but Jesus loves thee best
         F              G             C
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight

Until the shadows from this earth are cast
Until He gathers in his sheaves at last
Until the twilight gloom is over past
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight

Until made beautiful by love divine
Thou in the likeness of thy Lord shall shine
And He will bring that golden crown of life
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight

Until we meet again before the throne
Clothed in the spotless robes He gives his own
Until we know as we have known
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight

Martin Carthy's sleeve notes:
In the1960s, the Incredible String Band renamed a song called 'I Bid You Goodnight' which they learned from Jody Stecher's recordings of the great Bahamian guitarist and his family, the Pindar family, and the song became, for some folkies, one of those great standards.A year or two ago, John Howson visited Staithes to record the Fisherman's Choir, and was accompanied by Maggie Hunt who, at the same time, was interviewing the individuals involved. During converstaions, Mr Willie Wright sung a snatch of the Sankey hymn Sleep on Beloved which he describes as a lowering down song at funerals, and which was clearly the same song as 'I Bid You Goodnight' but in an earlier form, and when Norma heard it, she went to see Willie, who kindly provided her with the other verses. When we sang the song to Jody Stecher, he was enormously pleased, not least because it's function as a funeral song in the Bahamian fishing community was identical to that in it's North Yorkshire counterpart.

Wolf