As a child she was always singing. Edale, in Derbyshire, was the ideal place to nurture this natural ability, with an abundance of communal song. Having played the fiddle a small amount at school, Bella attended a Folkworks Youth Summer School in Durham age 13. Motivated by the number of young people playing folk music, she was inspired to begin working on folk fiddle. She also met many of her great friends and musical companions.
Some of these new friends arranged to meet up again, and on New Year's Day a year later The Pack was formed. Initially The Pack was a way for this group of people to get free tickets to festivals. The spirited performances and complex arrangements of the 12 piece band proved a resounding success, and they went on to play many of the scene's greatest stages, including Cambridge Folk Festival main stage in 2003. In 2002, the only Pack album 12 Little Devils was released, with fRoots calling it "... a genuine feel good album. Get yours now!".
Hardy released her debut solo album Night Visiting in 2007, to critical acclaim. Mojo gave her a 4* 'Brilliant' rating, fRoots wrote "Bella Hardy is more than a new generation folk revivalist... Her potential is massive", and Taplas Magazine noted "...her debut CD solo album is a piece of wondrous beauty and inventive incisiveness". In 2008 she was nominated for the Horizon Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. She was also nominated for Best Original Song the same year with Three Black Feathers, which Jim Moray went on to record on his 2008 album Low Culture.
Hardy released her second solo album In The Shadow of Mountains in 2009 at the Cambridge Folk Festival. Again it gained critical acclaim. English Dance and Song Magazine wrote "It's astounding and somewhat daunting to realise this is only Bella's second album... Surely no-one has any right to be writing songs with the sophistication of 'Sylvie Sovay', so early in their career..."
Three Black Feathers
Bella Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She watches us o’er field and fen
For this is only one man’s story
Within a tale of many men
Sally at her bedroom window
Stands where she’s stood for three years past
“I fear my true love, is lost in battle.
The church bell tolls to tell of midnight
With three bold knocks at Sally’s door
And quickly she has risen upright
Saying “Who’s this calls at such late an hour?”
And there is stood her own true lover
Raven sharp eyes shining through
Saying “Smile on me love, and I’ll not deny thee,
I have returned this night to you”
“What did I promise when I departed,
I said that when the bullets flew
That I would rise just like the blackbird
Safe back to share my life with you”
He’s led her up to her bed chamber
And bending knelt down where she lay
“Oh rest here in my arms forever
And lie here by my side till day.”
And so she sleeps, and dreams she sees him
By her window lit by the moon
Saying “I must be gone ere the rise of the sun love
I fear you’ve loved and you've lost to soon”
Sally startled has awoken
Raven sharp eyes shining through
And the bright morn so crisp and new
The moon is ever, ever watching
She watches us o’er field and fen
For this is only one man’s story
Within a tale of many men
Bella Hardy's "Three Black Feathers" tells a tender love story that unfolds within the context of war. The song begins with the image of the ever-observing moon. It watches over the fields and fenlands and becomes a symbol for the war, which is much larger than the one man's story the song tells. Sally, the singer, has been standing at her bedroom window for three years wondering if her lover, who went off to war, is still alive. The church bell tolls at midnight, and there are three knocks on her door. It's her true love, who had promised her that he would return to her safe after the bullets flew, just like the blackbird, which symbolizes rebirth and transformation. He kneels beside her bed and tells her to rest in his arms forever, and she falls asleep to dream of him by her window. However, when she awakens, she finds it was all just a dream, and he has to leave again.
The song captures the emotional turmoil of many war-torn love stories. The story of Sally and her true love shows how, despite the horrific realities of war, love manages to survive. The song has a dream-like quality to it, and the lyrics succinctly convey the complexities of emotional landscapes without becoming melodramatic. The relationship between Sally and her true love is an allegory for the hope and resilience that love brings to the human experience. It is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, love can permeate and thrive.
Line by Line Meaning
The moon is ever, ever watching
The moon is always watching over us
She watches us o’er field and fen
She watches us over fields and marshes
For this is only one man’s story
This story is about one man
Within a tale of many men
But there are many similar stories
Sally at her bedroom window
Sally is standing at her bedroom window
Stands where she’s stood for three years past
She has been standing there for three years
“I fear my true love, is lost in battle.
She is afraid her true love died in battle
I’m wondering how long love can last”
She questions how long love can endure
The church bell tolls to tell of midnight
The church bell rings to signal midnight
With three bold knocks at Sally’s door
Someone knocks three times at Sally's door
And quickly she has risen upright
She gets up quickly
Saying “Who’s this calls at such late an hour?
She asks who is calling at such a late hour
And there is stood her own true lover
Her true love is standing there
Raven sharp eyes shining through
His piercing black eyes are shining
Saying “Smile on me love, and I’ll not deny thee,
He says if she smiles, he won't reject her
I have returned this night to you”
He came back to her that night
“What did I promise when I departed,
He asks what he promised when he left
I said that when the bullets flew
He said he would come back when the danger was over
That I would rise just like the blackbird
He would come back unharmed, like the blackbird
Safe back to share my life with you”
And share his life with her
He’s led her up to her bed chamber
He takes her to his chamber
And bending knelt down where she lay
He kneels by her side
Oh rest here in my arms forever
He asks her to rest in his arms forever
And lie here by my side till day.”
And stay with him until morning
And so she sleeps, and dreams she sees him
She falls asleep and dreams of him
By her window lit by the moon
He appears by her window in the moonlight
Saying “I must be gone ere the rise of the sun love
He tells her he has to leave before sunrise
I fear you’ve loved and you've lost to soon”
He worries that she loved and lost too soon
Sally startled has awoken
Sally is startled and wakes up
Raven sharp eyes shining through
He is still there, his piercing black eyes shining
And the bright morn so crisp and new
Morning arrives, bright and fresh
Contributed by Aiden F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
bliv25
Literally remembered this from a BBC show Bella appeared on some years ago... my memory still serves! Enjoyable music.
david wilkinson
Great song! I'm hoping that this recent post means Bella will be doing this on the current tour. This time next week I'll be in the audience at Shrewsbury - can't wait!
david wilkinson
Yes! Bella sang it beautifully. A lovely musical evening!
Darryl Kirby
Beautiful.
David Clarke
Luvverly :-)