Born… Read Full Bio ↴Eliza Carthy (b. 1975) is an English folk singer and violinist.
Born on 23rd August 1975, she is the daughter of legendary English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson. She formed The Waterdaughters with her mother, aunt (Lal Waterson), and cousin Maria Knight in 1989. She has subsequently worked with Nancy Kerr, and also with her parents as Waterson:Carthy, in addition to her own solo work.
She has twice been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for UK album of the year: in 1998 for Red Rice, and again in 2003 for Anglicana. In 2003 Carthy swept the boards at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, winning Folk Singer of the Year, Best Album (for Anglicana), and Best Traditional Track (for "Worcester City").
In 2004 she was part of Oysterband's Big Session, a collaboration with numerous folk artists. They produced an album The Big Session Volume One, and the group as a whole were awarded Best Group at the Folk Awards in 2005.
Pretty Ploughboy
Eliza Carthy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And his horses stood down in yonder shade.
It was down in yonder grove he went whistling to his plough,
And by chance there he met a pretty maid, pretty maid,
And by chance there he met a pretty maid.
And when her aged parents they both came for to know
That her love he was ploughing on the plain,
And they sent him to the wars to be slain, to be slain,
And they sent him to the wars to be slain.
So she sailed till she came to the very ship she thought her love lay in
And unto the Captain she did complain.
She says, "I'm come in search for my pretty ploughing boy,
Who was sent unto the wars to be slain, to be slain,
Who was sent unto the wars to be slain."
So four hundred bright guineas with her hand she did lay down,
And so freely she told them out all o'er,
Until she got her pretty ploughboy all in her arms,
And she hugged him till she got him safe on shore, safe on shore.
And she hugged him till she got him safe on shore.
And she set those bells to ring and so sweetly she did sing,
Just because she saved the lad that she adored, she adored,
Just because she saved the lad that she adored.
The song "Pretty Ploughboy" by Eliza Carthy tells a story of a young ploughboy who falls in love with a beautiful girl one day while ploughing on the plain. However, when the girl's parents find out about their relationship, they send her love away to join the army. Heartbroken, the girl sets out to find her beloved boyfriend and eventually locates him on a ship, where she pleads with the captain to release her lover. She pays the captain four hundred gold guineas and finally reunites with her beloved ploughboy, relieved to have saved him from harm.
The song reflects several themes relevant during the time it was written, including the consequences of being pressed into military service and the power dynamics in relationships between individuals from different social classes. The song’s protagonist –a young woman of lower social status – openly challenges those in authority in order to rescue her lover, who is at risk of being killed in battle. The song flips the gender dynamic of the time by portraying a female character as the hero who must save her male partner.
The lyrics also convey a sense of urgency through the repeated use of phrases like "by chance" and "sent for the press gang." The girl's love for the ploughboy is so strong that she is willing to do whatever it takes to save him from harm. Overall, this is an uplifting and romantic song that conveys the power of love and the bravery of ordinary people in extraordinary situations.
Line by Line Meaning
It's of a brisk young ploughboy, he was ploughing on the plain,
A young and energetic ploughboy was working on a plain field.
And his horses stood down in yonder shade.
The horses were resting in the shade a little distance away.
It was down in yonder grove he went whistling to his plough,
He went into a nearby grove whistling while doing his work.
And by chance there he met a pretty maid, pretty maid,
He met a beautiful young lady by accident while working.
And when her aged parents they both came for to know
When her parents found out about the relationship.
That her love he was ploughing on the plain,
That she was in love with the ploughboy.
They sent for the press gang and sent her love away,
They used press gangs to send him away to war.
And they sent him to the wars to be slain, to be slain,
He was sent off to the war to be killed.
So she sailed till she came to the very ship she thought her love lay in
She traveled to the ship where she thought her lover was located.
And unto the Captain she did complain.
She complained to the captain of the ship.
She says, "I'm come in search for my pretty ploughing boy,
She explained that she was looking for her lover.
Who was sent unto the wars to be slain, to be slain,
Who was sent to war to be killed.
So four hundred bright guineas with her hand she did lay down,
She gave four hundred coins as a reward.
And so freely she told them out all o'er,
She gave the coins without hesitation.
Until she got her pretty ploughboy all in her arms,
Until she was able to embrace and hold her lover tightly.
And she hugged him till she got him safe on shore, safe on shore.
She held him till they made it safely back to the shore.
And she set those bells to ring and so sweetly she did sing,
She celebrated their reunion by ringing bells and singing sweetly.
Just because she saved the lad that she adored, she adored,
It was because she saved her beloved that she was overjoyed.
Contributed by Leo K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Michał Bieńkowski
The song is extraordinary, what a shame so few people know it
Ruth Dixon
singer, fiddler, bandleader, writer - this scarily talented scion of the waterson/carthy dynasty takes no prisoners.
Andrew's Velvet Voice
This is a marvelous song, but I certainly hope somebody uploads the original Harry Cox version.