Tabor's earliest public performances were at the Heart of England Folk Club (at the Fox and Vivian pub) in Leamington Spa in the mid 1960s. In the late 1960s an appearance at the Sidmouth Folk Festival led to folk club bookings and she contributed to various records. One of her earliest recordings was in 1972 on an anthology called Stagfolk Live. She also featured on Rosie Hardman's Firebird (1972) and The First Folk Review Record (1974). At the time she was singing purely traditional unaccompanied material but in 1976 she collaborated with Maddy Prior on the Silly Sisters album and tour, with a full band that included Nic Jones. It provided the launching pad that same year (1976) for her first album in her own right, Airs and Graces. She later joined again with Prior, this time using the name Silly Sisters for their duo. Starting in 1977 Martin Simpson joined her in the recording studio for three albums before he moved to America in 1987. (Simpson has returned from America to be a guest guitarist on albums in the 2000s.) After his departure, she started working closely with pianist Huw Warren.
In 1990, Tabor recorded an album with the folk-rock band OysterBand entitled Freedom and Rain. She went on tour with OysterBand, and the Rykodisc label published a limited-run promotional live album the following year. Many of her current fans first discovered her through this tour and album with the OysterBand. In 1992 Elvis Costello wrote "All This Useless Beauty" specifically for Tabor, and she recorded it on Angel Tiger.
Since then her solo albums have included:
A Quiet Eye (1999)
Rosa Mundi (2001)
An Echo of Hooves (2003)
At the Wood's Heart (2005)
Apples (2007)
Ashore (2011)
Ragged Kingdom is a 2011 album by June Tabor & Oysterband.
Since 2006, Tabor has also been working with Huw Warren and Iain Ballamy as Quercus.
Website: www.junetabor.co.uk
A Smiling Shore
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the smiling shore
A year or two
From a strange war
The gentle lies
To dying eyes
A thousand miles of walking
Last night I heard him shouting in his sleep
He doesn't eat
Someday in November
Every night for forty years
My father still remembers
For this is his kingdom, his home
And his story will lost in the struggle
For thou and glory inside him
The final solution
To no one's problem
Friends and lovers in stinking rows
Avoiding their eyes
Checking their numbers
Burning their clothes
Soul survivor
You wouldn't even see him in a crowd
The family man waits in a cube to draw his pension
Facing memories of a life
He can't bring himself to mention
The song A Smiling Shore by June Tabor depicts the story of a man who had survived the horrors of war, returning home to find peace but never fully overcoming the trauma of his experiences. The first verse describes the man's journey along with the passage of time. The repetition of the line "smiling shore" reflects on the optimistic anticipation of returning home after a long and arduous journey.
In the second verse, the song introduces the idea that the man witnessed the death of his comrades in arms. He was tasked with telling "gentle lies" to comfort the dying, which has left a lasting impression on him. This imagery creates a somber and melancholic tone, conveying the emotional trauma that soldiers like him experience.
The third verse describes how the man's struggle is internalized, making it difficult for others to understand the depths of his pain. The song highlights the isolation and loneliness that veterans often feel after returning home. The phrase "final solution to no one's problem" is a powerful reminder of how society often ignores the trauma and sacrifices of soldiers.
Overall, A Smiling Shore is a moving tribute that recognizes the horrors of war and the ongoing emotional cost of conflict. The song reminds us of the need for compassion and understanding towards veterans, who have given so much in service to their country.
Line by Line Meaning
So he found his way
He eventually succeeded in reaching his destination
To the smiling shore
The place he arrived at was cheerful and may have brought him peace
A year or two
It took him quite some time to get there
From a strange war
He had been fighting in a war before he arrived
The gentle lies
People were telling comforting falsehoods
To dying eyes
Those falsehoods were told to people who were about to die
A thousand miles of walking
It was a long and arduous journey to get there
Old man talking
An elderly person was recounting tales
Last night I heard him shouting in his sleep
The elderly person was experiencing a nightmare
He doesn't eat
He is too distressed to consume food
Someday in November
A specific future date or day which may have significance to the individual
Every night for forty years
Something has happened on a regular basis for a long period of time
My father still remembers
The singer's dad still recalls something from his past
For this is his kingdom, his home
The place where the event happened is very significant to him
And his story will lost in the struggle
The story may be forgotten or overlooked among other important events
For thou and glory inside him
There may have been a sense of pride or honor in the experience
The final solution
There was a specific end goal
To no one's problem
The goal may not have been necessary or helpful to anyone
Friends and lovers in stinking rows
The situation involved death and decay of close companions
Avoiding their eyes
The people present were unable to face the situation or each other due to fear or shame
Checking their numbers
There was an organized system in place to track the deceased
Burning their clothes
The possessions of the deceased were destroyed
Soul survivor
Someone who has managed to survive a traumatic event
You wouldn't even see him in a crowd
The person in question may try to blend in or avoid attention
The family man waits in a cube to draw his pension
The singer refers to someone who is now leading a mundane, ordinary life
Facing memories of a life
This person is forced to confront past events
He can't bring himself to mention
The memory is too painful to talk about
Contributed by Savannah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jeff heller
I love the way this woman sings.