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
I've Got You Under My Skin
June Tabor Lyrics
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I've got you deep in the heart of me.
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me.
I've got you under my skin.
I'd tried so not to give in.
I said to myself, this affair never will go so well.
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know down well
I've got you under my skin?
I'd sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin' you near
In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear,
Don't you know, you fool, you never can win?
Use your mentality, wake up to reality.
But each time that I do just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
Cause I've got you under my skin.
I would sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin' you near
In spite of the warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, how it yells in my ear,
Don't you know, you fool, ain't no chance to win
Why not use your mentality, get up, wake up to reality?
And each time I do just the thought of you
Makes me stop just before I begin
Cause I've got you under my skin.
And I like you under my skin.
June Tabor sings a rendition of "I've Got You Under My Skin" that speaks of a love that is deeply rooted within her being. The song's first few lines metaphorically describe the lover as being embedded "under" her "skin" and "deep in the heart of" her. She views her lover as an integral part of her very being. The singer acknowledges that she has tried to resist this love affair and convince herself that it will not end well, but ultimately, she cannot help succumbing to the powerful emotions that her lover invokes within her.
The song's lyrics describe June Tabor as willing to make any sacrifice for the affection of her lover, despite the warnings she receives from a cautionary voice inside her head that reminds her of the potential pitfalls of giving herself over to this love. Tabor confesses that her "mentality" would dictate that she wakes up to "reality" and rejects this love, but she cannot deny the feelings she has for her lover, which "makes [her] stop before [she] begins."
"I've Got You Under My Skin" talks about the irresistibility and power of love, even when there are potential negative consequences. The singer portrays love as something that is all-encompassing and that cannot be reasoned with just through intellection. In short, it's a song about the complexities of love and the hold it can have over people.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got you under my skin.
You are always on my mind and in my heart.
I've got you deep in the heart of me.
My feelings for you run very deep and are a significant part of who I am.
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me.
I cannot imagine myself without you because you are an integral part of my being.
I'd tried so not to give in.
I attempted to resist my attraction to you.
I said to myself, this affair never will go so well.
I knew from the beginning that this relationship would not be easy or successful.
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know down well I've got you under my skin?
Despite knowing that the relationship may not work, my feelings for you are too strong to resist.
I'd sacrifice anything come what might For the sake of havin' you near
I'm willing to give up anything for the chance to be near you.
In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night And repeats, repeats in my ear
Though I sometimes hear a cautionary voice telling me to be careful, my feelings for you drown it out.
Don't you know, you fool, you never can win? Use your mentality, wake up to reality.
The voice warns me that I cannot come out on top in this situation and advises me to think logically rather than let my feelings guide me.
But each time that I do just the thought of you Makes me stop before I begin
Despite the warnings, just the thought of you is enough to make me hesitate before I take a logical action.
Cause I've got you under my skin.
I cannot escape my feelings for you no matter how much I try.
And I like you under my skin.
I enjoy having you so deeply ingrained in me and would not want it any other way.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind