Isobel Campbell (born April 27, 1976) is a Scottish singer, cellist and com… Read Full Bio ↴Isobel Campbell (born April 27, 1976) is a Scottish singer, cellist and composer in the indie and folk genres. As with her former band Belle and Sebastian, she is often labelled as twee pop. Campbell was a member of Belle and Sebastian from their formation in Glasgow in 1996 until 2002, when she departed the band for personal reasons. Isobel played cello with Belle and Sebastian and sang backing vocals. She also took lead vocals on a few songs from the band, and co-wrote their top-20 U.K. single Legal Man.

In 2006 Isobel released a collaborative LP (Ballad of the Broken Seas) with former Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age singer Mark Lanegan, a mixture of folk and more rock-orientated music. October 2006 also saw the release of her latest album, Milkwhite Sheets, a more acoustic folk album, consisting of a mixture of traditional songs alonside Isobel's own compositions.

Isobel's band The Gentle Waves released its first album on Jeepster Records, titled The Green Fields of Foreverland, in 1999. The second Gentle Waves record, Swansong For You came out one year later. In 2002, she collaborated with Scottish jazz musician Bill Wells on a collection of Billie Holliday songs, released by Creeping Bent.

In 2003 Campbell released Amorino, the first solo album under her own name, to very good reviews. Bill Wells was featured here again, along with other jazz musicians.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan form a unique combination of gruff vocals and dulcet voices. They have released three albums so far: Ballad of the Broken Seas, which received a nomination in the 2006 Mercury Awards, Sunday at Devil Dirt, which was released in May 2008. The album received US release in Fall 2008. And finally their third album Hawk was released in August 2010.

This Land Flows With Milk
Isobel Campbell Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The sun the moon
And the stars too
Fall to my feet
When I'm with you
Wilderness fades
With dark decay
December's June
November's may

This land flows with milk
This land flows with milk

Across the sea
You say today

I'm in your town, you're in the states
Even still we'll lie awake
Two thousand and one
The year of snakes

This land flows with milk
This land flows with milk

The sun the moon
And the stars too
Fall to my feet
When I'm with you
Wilderness fades
With dark decay
December's June
November's may
This land flows with milk
This land flows with milk

This land flows with milk
This land flows with milk

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Isobel Campbell's song "This Land Flows With Milk" have a mystical quality that speaks to the eternal power of love. The opening line, "The sun the moon and the stars too, fall to my feet when I'm with you," speaks to the transformative nature of love, which can make even the most powerful forces in the universe bow to its will. The subsequent lines, "Wilderness fades with dark decay, December's June, November's may," reflect the transformative power of love not only on the individual, but on the land itself. Even the barren and desolate wilderness can give way to new life and hope in the presence of love.

The repeated line "This land flows with milk" reinforces this idea of transformation, signifying the abundance and richness that come with the presence of love. The final lines about being separated across the sea speak to the power of love to transcend physical boundaries and connect people across great distances. Overall, the song is a beautiful and poetic tribute to the enduring nature of love and its ability to transform both individuals and the world around them.

Line by Line Meaning

The sun the moon
The celestial bodies of the sun and the moon are at my command

And the stars too
All the stars in the sky are under my control

Fall to my feet
They submit to me and my wishes

When I'm with you
Only when I am with you do I feel this power

Wilderness fades
The untamed and wild aspects of life become subdued

With dark decay
And even the decay and death that comes with the passing of time is lessened

December's June
The bleakness of winter can turn into the beauty of summer

November's may
The dreariness of fall can transform into the springtime of hope

This land flows with milk
This place is abundant and bountiful, like a land of milk and honey

This land flows with milk
It is so plentiful, it bears repeating

Across the sea
Even though we are separated by distance