Betty May and Raoul Loveday

I made an interesting discovering after watching In Search of the Beast 666, a documentary on Aleister Crowley. Whilst Crowley was staying at the Abbey of Thelema, a man named Raoul Loveday and his wife Betty May came to stay with him, Raoul eager to become Crowley's disciple. Betty May, however, was cautious of Crowley and was not enjoying her time at the Abbey. Raoul become obsessed with Crowley's teaching and, according to the documentary, cut himself with a razor every time he used the word "I"--at Crowley's suggestion. Despite May's attempts to help him, Raoul eventually fell ill and died. May claims it was from the drugs and "the incident of the cat's blood," which he drank during a ritual. I am told by a reliable source, however, that Raoul actually died of typhoid after drinking from the well--at Crowley's disgression.

If you listen to Ether, on Musick to Play in the Dark vol. 2, there is a part where Jhonn chants "Betty May and Raoul Loveday." I remember singing this to myself before, completely naive to what it really meant. You can hear it in YouTube video at 4:33.

All of the lyrics posted online either leave this bit out, or describe it as "?????" I'm posting a near-completed version at the end of this post. Strange that Jhonn would include this in the song, I wonder what the relevance is? There's still one part of the song I cannot figure out, "Memories of (?) slipping away into ether." If anyone has any insight into this I urge you to comment.



It's either ether or the other
My mind is back to front
And sometimes absent
And slip the cup
I've taken a sip from the cup that slips into ether

It's either ether or the other

I press my window to the glass
The glass turns to gas
I breathe out ether, a glass of ether
Ether is a thief
It's stolen my belief

Slip through the ether
We both slip through the ether
Slipstreams of memory slipping away
It's ether

Betty May and Raoul Loveday
Betty May and Raoul Loveday
Berry May and Raoul Loveday
Slip through the ether
Sip the ether
Sip the ether
Slipstreams of memories slipping away
Slipstreams of memories slipping away
Memories of ??? slipping away into ether
Into ether

I've changed my mind
It's what it's there for
I've changed my mind
It's what it's there for
For therefore
Full of ether
Full of ether
Full of ether
Full of ether
Full of ether

I'm going upstairs now
To take my mind off
I'm going upstairs now
To turn my mind off
(repeated)

lyrics taken from equ.in/ox

All the Pretty Little Horses

"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep you little baby.
Go to sleep you little baby.
When you wake, you shall have,
All the pretty little horses.
All the pretty little horses.
Blacks and bays, dapples and grays,
All the pretty little horses
Way down yonder, in the meadow,
Lies a poor little lamby.
Bees and butterflies, flitter 'round his eyes,
Poor little thing is crying mommy.
Poor little thing is crying mommy.
Go to sleep, don't you cry,
Lay your head upon the clover.
Lay your head upon the clover.
In your dreams, you shall ride,
While your mommy watches over.
Blacks and bays, and dapples and grays,
All the pretty little horses.
All the pretty little horses.
All the pretty little horses.