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
Finisterre
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sleep away the afternoon
Just rocking with the tide,
Drinking with the moon
I found a ticket in my pocket
All the way from Port-of-Spain
And the warm wind from the Indies covered me again.
The tale we told each other has an end
Santander, to hear me calling
You, that never lost a friend…
We'd often look for gold,
Treasure buried in the sand
We hid it long ago,
Before our wars began
When the world was green and early
And time was on our side
Before the storm got up to blow us far and wide.
Santander, the sky is falling
The tale we told each other has an end
Santander, to hear me calling
You, that never lost a friend…
Farewell, Finisterre,
Sleep away the afternoon
Just rocking with the tide,
Drinking with the moon
Last night I turned the glasses over
And I drank the bottle dry
The moon stared out to sea all night and so did I.
Santander, the sky is falling
The tale we told each other has an end
Santander, to hear me calling
You, that never lost a friend,
Never lost a friend…
The song "Finisterre" by June Tabor is about the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to a place that once brought joy and comfort. The first verse describes the singer's current state, sitting by the ocean in Finisterre, rocking with the tide and drinking with the moon. She discovers a ticket to Port-of-Spain, which brings back memories of the warm wind from the Indies that once covered her. The second verse is nostalgic, describing how she and her friends used to look for buried treasure before their wars began. She reflects on a time when the world was still green and early and time was on their side. The chorus repeats the phrase "Santander, the sky is falling," a metaphor for the inevitable end of things, including the tale that she and her friend tell each other. She calls out to Santander, a friend who has never lost anyone, acknowledging that she is about to leave but grateful for the memories they shared.
Overall, the song captures the feeling of letting go of something beloved, knowing that it is time to move on. The ocean and the moon serve as symbols of the passage of time and the impermanence of things. Finisterre, with its natural beauty and peaceful vibes, serves as a metaphor for a simpler, happier time. The singer's journey to Port-of-Spain represents a new beginning and a chance to make new memories, but she cannot help but feel a tinge of sadness at leaving behind the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Farewell, Finisterre,
Goodbye, Finisterre
Sleep away the afternoon
Spend the afternoon sleeping
Just rocking with the tide,
Swaying with the ebb and flow of the ocean
Drinking with the moon
Drinking while admiring the moon
I found a ticket in my pocket
Found a ticket in my pocket
All the way from Port-of-Spain
From Port-of-Spain
And the warm wind from the Indies covered me again.
The warm wind from the Indies enveloped me once more.
Santander, the sky is falling
Santander, the sky is collapsing
The tale we told each other has an end
The story we shared has concluded
Santander, to hear me calling
Santander, listen to me calling
You, that never lost a friend…
You, who have never lost a friend...
We'd often look for gold,
We'd frequently search for gold,
Treasure buried in the sand
Treasure concealed in the sand
We hid it long ago,
We concealed it a long time ago,
Before our wars began
Before our battles commenced
When the world was green and early
When the world was fresh and young
And time was on our side
And we had time on our side
Before the storm got up to blow us far and wide.
Before the storm arose and scattered us widely.
Last night I turned the glasses over
Last night I flipped the glasses over
And I drank the bottle dry
And I drank the bottle until it was empty
The moon stared out to sea all night and so did I.
The moon and I gazed out to sea throughout the night.
Never lost a friend…
Never lost a friend...
Contributed by Lillian O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@bressonjuy
Une chanson que l'on ne peut pas oublier
@carolienvanzuijlen7396
Beautiful! This very song is being mentioned in a novel of P.Robinson, “Watching the dark”, page87. That’s how I found it
@garyblade2332
Reading that book now, it's why I looked for the song.
@gillcloke997
This is just beyond wonderful - the singing, the setting...
@vintagebrew1057
The timeless voice of June Tabor, exquisite and rare like a fine wine.
@FatNebraskaMom
Good Mother, every single hair on my body stood up when she started singing this song... Wow... wow...
@hmagalhaes1952
Precisely the same way I do, that added uncontrollable tears whenever I hear this June Tabor sing this song. There are few voices that cause me such commotion - Tabor, Brell, Vinicius de Morais, Fabrizio de Andre, Paco Ibañez, Moustaki, Leo Ferré, Atahualpa Yupanki, Victor Jara and few more!
@elinordonnelly1274
Only just heard about June Tabor, absolutely blown away, magical voice every word she sings is crystal clear. Searching for C.D.snow.
@paulmayle4374
better late than never :) been a fan probably 40 years
@julietteandrews9918
Wonderful, amazingly different and heartfelt, that speaks to everyone. Thank you June Tabor .