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
He Fades Away
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
His kisses used to take my breath away
There's a man in my bed I hardly know him
I wipe his face and hold his hand
And watch him as he slowly fades away
And he fades away
Not like leaves that fall in autumn
He fades away
Like the bloodstains on the pillow case
That I wash every day
He fades away
There's a man in my bed, he's on a pension
Although he's only fifty years of age
The lawyer says we might get compensation
In the course of due procedure
But he couldn't say for certain at this stage
And he's not the only one
Who made that trip so many years ago
To work the Wittenoom mines
So many young men old before their time
And dying slow
He fades away
A wheezing bag of bones his
Lungs half clogged and full of clay
He fades away
There's a man in my bed they never told him
The cost of bringing home his weekly pay
And when the courts decide how much they owe him
How will he spend his money
When he lies in bed and coughs his life away?
And he fades away
Not like leaves that fall in autumn
Turning gold against the grey
He fades away
Like the bloodstains on the pillow case
That I wash every day
He fades away
The lyrics to June Tabor's song "He Fades Away" depict the tragic fate of a man who has fallen ill due to the toxic exposure he suffered while working in the Wittenoom mines. The singer of the song, who used to love this man but now barely recognizes him, narrates his slow deterioration and eventual death. The lines "There's a man in my bed, he's on a pension/although he's only fifty years of age" reveal the injustice of a system that fails to compensate victims of industrial diseases adequately. The reference to "the lawyer says we might get compensation/In the course of due procedure/But he couldn't say for certain at this stage" highlights the bureaucratic obstacles and delays that further aggravate the suffering of the sick and their families. The last stanza, which questions how the man will be able to use the compensation money when he's already on his deathbed, underscores the song's poignant condemnation of systemic neglect and marginalization.
The haunting refrain "And he fades away" emphasizes the gradualness and inevitability of the man's decline, which is likened to both the autumnal falling of leaves and the indelible stains of blood on the pillowcase. The latter image suggests the physical toll of the disease on the man's body, as well as the emotional cost it exacts on his loved ones who have to witness his suffering daily. The line "A wheezing bag of bones his/Lungs half clogged and full of clay" paints a vivid picture of the man's deteriorating health and the physical damage that the asbestos fibers have inflicted on his body.
Overall, "He Fades Away" is a powerful portrayal of the devastating impact that industrial diseases have on workers and their families, and a scathing indictment of the institutions and corporations responsible for the neglect and mistreatment of those affected by such illnesses.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a man in my bed I used to love him
The singer used to love the man who is now in her bed.
His kisses used to take my breath away
The man used to be a passionate lover who made the singer feel alive.
There's a man in my bed I hardly know him
The man in the singer's bed has changed so much that she barely recognizes him.
I wipe his face and hold his hand
The singer takes care of the man and provides comfort and support as he fades away.
And watch him as he slowly fades away
The singer observes the man's decline and eventual death.
And he fades away
The man's decline and death is slow and painful.
Not like leaves that fall in autumn
The man's fading away is not like the natural process of leaves falling from trees in autumn.
Turning gold against the grey
Leaves change color in autumn, but the man's decline is not beautiful like the changing leaves.
He fades away
The man slowly fades away like a dying flame.
Like the bloodstains on the pillow case
The man's fading away is characterized by the bloodstains on his pillow case, resulting from his poor health.
That I wash every day
The singer has to clean the bloodstains on the pillow case every day because they are a constant reminder of the man's decline.
There's a man in my bed, he's on a pension
Despite being only 50 years old, the man is on a pension due to his poor health.
Although he's only fifty years of age
The man's poor health has caused him to retire early.
The lawyer says we might get compensation
The singer and the man may receive financial compensation for his illness as a result of working in the Wittenoom mines.
In the course of due procedure
The process of seeking compensation is ongoing and lengthy due to legal procedures.
But he couldn't say for certain at this stage
Uncertainty surrounds the amount of compensation the singer and the man will receive.
And he's not the only one
The man is one of many who worked in the Wittenoom mines and became ill as a result.
Who made that trip so many years ago
Many people went to work in the Wittenoom mines years ago, and now suffer from health problems as a result.
So many young men old before their time
The men who worked in the Wittenoom mines aged prematurely due to the dangerous working conditions.
And dying slow
Many of the men who worked in the Wittenoom mines are now dying slowly and painfully.
A wheezing bag of bones his
The man is now a shadow of his former self and is almost unrecognizable.
Lungs half clogged and full of clay
The man's lungs have been damaged by the dust and minerals he inhaled while working in the Wittenoom mines.
There's a man in my bed they never told him
The man was not informed of the health risks associated with working in the Wittenoom mines.
The cost of bringing home his weekly pay
The man was willing to work in the dangerous Wittenoom mines to provide for his family.
And when the courts decide how much they owe him
The legal system will determine the amount of compensation the man deserves for his ill health.
How will he spend his money
The man may not have much time left to enjoy the compensation he receives, and may not know how to spend it even if he did.
When he lies in bed and coughs his life away?
The man's coughing is a reminder of his imminent death, which is a sad and painful experience for everyone involved.
Contributed by Lily W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.