The album Tarot Suite (shown inset), which features Lady of the Dawn was a treasured presence in our household as I grew up on Sydney’s western outskirts. Despite the limited information available about it—even lacking a dedicated Wikipedia page—Tarot Suite, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, holds an enigmatic quality that mirrors its tarot-inspired theme. The album presents a distinctive fusion of rock, pop, and classical music, inspired by the 22 major arcana tarot cards. Its concept is elaborated in the inner sleeve, which includes notes on the tarot, card motifs, track titles, credits, and lyrics.
The fourth track on the album, Lady of the Dawn, is a love ballad deeply rooted in ancient, mystical, and archetypal feminine folklore. The song explores the allure and magnetism of the feminine figure and the way the masculine is drawn to her purity, symbolizing new beginnings and rebirth. The Lady emerges as a symbolic embodiment of the protagonist’s aspirations and deepest desires, even if these desires remain just out of reach. Musically, Lady of the Dawn veers away from the medieval rock stylings of preceding tracks like Journey of a Fool and Imbecile, which also incorporate mythology and tarot themes.
Lady of the dawn
You opened up my sleeping eyes
I never knew
That I was born
But I like you for your body
And I love you ’cause you’re wise
I am your prisoner
You’re my lady of the dawn
You are the dealer
In this strange uncertain game
Take my cards and deal again
I can feel my life is changing
Woman, now you’ve taught my how to learn
Teach me to earn
The love you give to me
The love you give to me
Lady of the dawn
You opened up my sleeping eyes
I never knew
That I was born
But I like you for your body
And I love you ’cause you’re wise
I am your prisoner
You’re my lady of the dawn
I was waiting
In the darkness of the night
Only now, I see the light
Softly shining in the side lids
Woman, if you really hold the key
Turn it for me
And help me understand
Help me understand
Lady of the dawn
You opened up my sleeping eyes
I never knew
That I was born
But I like you for your body
And I love you ’cause you’re wise
I am your prisoner
And you’re my lady of the dawn
Despite Tarot Suite‘s relative obscurity it has retained somewhat of a dedicated fan base based on feedback from my previous posts especially my first from the album – Imbecile. And lets not forget how Journey of a Fool was used as the theme for the Sydney radio station Triple M; from its first broadcast in 1980 until the 1990s. Over the course of May 2010, this theme tune was re-recorded by Slash, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist, as a new theme to mark the 30th anniversary of Triple M in Sydney.
A fellow blogger friend Christian at Christian’s Music Musings stated in my June post of Run Like the Wind which is the finale of the album that Lady of the Dawn ‘received a good amount of air time on my go-to German pop radio station at the time‘.
Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director, and conductor. Having attained international recognition as a solo artist, his notable contributions in the UK include creating The Wombles pop act, writing hits including the chart-topping Bright Eyes (also ft. Art Garfunkle), and introducing Katie Melua to the music scene.
He has conducted many orchestras, including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and Stuttgart Philharmonic in both classical and pop recordings and performances.
References:
1. Mike Batt – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Thanks for the shoutout, Matt. And, yes, I do very well remember repeatedly listening to “Lady of the Dawn” on my go-to pop radio station back in Germany while growing up there. It’s a bit on the lush side but nevertheless a beautiful song. Another Mike Batt track that comes to mind I also know from the radio in Germany is the cinematic “The Ride to Agadir.”
My brother was always a bigger fan of this ‘lush’ ballad, as you put it, than I was. I had nearly let it pass by—until your previous post reminded me of its popularity on German airwaves. I felt compelled to give credit where it’s due, as I think, perhaps for nostalgic reasons, that it’s worth keeping the torch burning for what I consider a nearly criminally overlooked album. Thank you for highlighting Ride to Agadir—a song I hadn’t heard before but which follows in the grand, medieval, rock-anthem scope laid out in Tarot Suite.