Alan Hull (1945-1995) was an English singer-songwriter and founding member … Read Full Bio ↴Alan Hull (1945-1995) was an English singer-songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk rock band, Lindisfarne.

Born James Alan Hull in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne on 20th February1945, he became a member of the band The Chosen Few alongside keyboard player Mick Gallagher in 1962. He supported himself one year by working as a nurse at a mental hospital while appearing as a folk singer and guitarist in local clubs before helping to form Brethren and Downtown Faction, which evolved into Lindisfarne in 1970. He also released a one-off solo single, "We Can Swing Together", which was re-recorded with the group on their first album, Nicely Out of Tune, and became a regular favourite in their stage performances.

As the group's most prolific songwriter and joint lead vocalist, Hull came to be regarded as its leader. In 1972, dissatisfied with the sound and critical reception of their third album Dingly Dell, he considered leaving the group, but instead he and joint lead vocalist Ray "Jacka" Jackson formed a new six-piece Lindisfarne the following year, leaving the three other original members to form Jack the Lad. He also released a first solo album, Pipedream, in the same year, and published a book of poems, Mocking Horse.

Lindisfarne disbanded in 1975, and Hull released a second solo album, Squire, then formed the short-lived Radiator, which also included drummer Ray Laidlaw of Lindisfarne and Jack the Lad. At the end of 1977 the original line-up of Lindisfarne reformed after a well-received Christmas show at the Newcastle City Hall which was broadcast on local radio. Thereafter he combined his musical career as front man of the group with a solo career. He was also a staunch Labour Party activist.

In 1994, he recorded Back to Basics, a live all-acoustic survey of the best of his songwriting from 1970 onwards. On 17th November 1995 whilst working on a new album, Statues & Liberties, Hull died suddenly of a heart thrombosis, at the age of fifty.

Song for a Windmill
Alan Hull Lyrics

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Standing in a field alone
Who was it who turned you into stone ?
Who let your wooden cog wheels rot ?
Who'll not be coming back to make the wheat from the corn fields ?
The miller, he has another job
He worketh in a factory to earn his weekly bob.

There was a time before

When your sails played hopscotch with the wind
And your music was the soaring of
Fifty thousand revolutions on wings of nature's making
But now your silent like your store
Your body is all breaking and just the rats call you home.

Standing in a field alone
Who was it who turned you into stone ?
Who let your wooden cog wheels rot ?
Who'll not be coming back to make the wheat from the corn fields ?

The miller, he has another job
He worketh in a factory to earn his weekly bob.

Overall Meaning

"Song for a Windmill" by Alan Hull speaks to the abandonment of an old windmill, and the demise of its once-thriving industry. The song's lyrics lament the decline of this majestic structure, standing alone in an empty field. Hull outlines the neglected windmill's sad state, as it now stands frozen in time. He questions why it is that the miller has forsaken his work there, now laboring at a factory instead of his traditional trade.

Hull uses descriptive language to create a powerful metaphor for the loss of human connection to nature. Through the windmill's degradation, Hull is making a larger statement about the decay of rural life due to the encroachment of progress and industry. The windmill, once a symbol of pastoral industry and self-sufficiency, has become an artifact of the past. The song takes the listener through the heartbreaking journey of a once vibrant windmill, now decaying in isolation.

This song is notable for its use of personification, as the windmill itself is given a sense of agency and emotion. Through the repeated questions of "Who was it who turned you into stone?" and "Who let your wooden cog wheels rot?" the windmill itself seems to be accusing its human creators of neglect and abandonment. Hull's evocative language takes the listener on an emotional journey that laments the loss of a bygone era.

Line by Line Meaning

Standing in a field alone
The windmill stands isolated in a field.

Who was it who turned you into stone ?
What circumstance led to the windmill's abandonment?

Who let your wooden cog wheels rot ?
What caused the windmill's functional mechanisms to break down?

Who'll not be coming back to make the wheat from the corn fields ?
The miller is no longer around to grind corn into wheat.

The miller, he has another job / He worketh in a factory to earn his weekly bob.
The miller now works in a factory to earn a living.

There was a time before
In the past, the windmill was operational.

When your sails played hopscotch with the wind
The windmill's sails swayed playfully in the wind.

And your music was the soaring of / Fifty thousand revolutions on wings of nature's making
The sound of the windmill's spinning was like music, with each revolution representing the power of nature.

But now your silent like your store / Your body is all breaking and just the rats call you home.
The windmill is now abandoned and in disrepair, with rats making it their home.

Contributed by Penelope B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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