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
Joseph Cross
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That the old mans ailin'
His eyes are pailin'
And the weather took his hands
They say the ring on his finger
Was shaped from a bone
From some white man in Missouri
That spilled whiskey on his wife
He has traveled in a sacred circle
And he has traveled on a white man's train
He's killed for hunger his buffalo brother
He's killed for anger and a white man's name
His name was Joseph Cross
And he was raised by the mission
Just one of a hundred Indian boys
That wouldn't tie his shoes
He cried the night his grandpa died
And told him in a vision
"Stay close to the ways of the rattlesnake
Stay close to the ways of the grizzly"
In the 1919
Chill of December
The bear and the rattler
Coil sleepin' hardly breathin'
It's a penny to the kitchen boy
To run get sister Lydia
"Now you tell her that old Indian
Is sleepin', hardly breathin'."
Someone said it just weren't right
To give him a white man's funeral
Someone said they'd just as soon as not
Float him on down the river
But no one touched the ring
And no one said a thing about his chest
Where it looked like a bear had ripped him
And a rattler kissed his cheek
The song "Joseph Cross" by June Tabor tells the story of a Native American man named Joseph Cross who lived a difficult and tumultuous life. The first verse describes how word has spread that Joseph is ill and his hands have been affected by the harsh climate. The ring he wears, made from the bone of a white man who once spilled whiskey on his wife, is a symbol of the violence and exploitation that Joseph has experienced throughout his life.
The second verse speaks to the way that Joseph's life has been marked by contradictions and conflicts. He has moved between two worlds, traveling in a sacred circle that reflects his Native American identity and also riding on a white man's train. He has killed both for sustenance and out of rage, struggling to find his place in a society that has always been stacked against him.
The third and final verse contains a powerful vision that Joseph shared with his grandfather on the night that his grandfather died. The grandfather implores him to stay "close to the ways of the rattlesnake" and "close to the ways of the grizzly," encouraging him to stay connected to his Native American roots even as his life takes him in a different direction.
Overall, "Joseph Cross" is a testament to the resilience and complexity of Native American life. It shows how even in the face of unimaginable violence and adversity, Joseph was able to hold onto his cultural heritage and find a sense of purpose and belonging.
Line by Line Meaning
There's word from the caf?
There is a piece of news circulating around the caf?.
That the old mans ailin'
The old man is gravely ill.
His eyes are pailin'
The old man's eyes are gradually losing color.
And the weather took his hands
His hands were affected by the harsh weather.
They say the ring on his finger
It is said that the man wore a ring on his finger.
Was shaped from a bone
The ring was made using a bone.
From some white man in Missouri
It is believed that the bone was obtained from a white man in Missouri.
That spilled whiskey on his wife
The white man spilled whiskey on a woman, presumably the old man's wife.
He has traveled in a sacred circle
The old man went on a journey around a sacred place.
And he has traveled on a white man's train
He also traveled on a train belonging to white men.
He's killed for hunger his buffalo brother
He hunted and killed his buffalo counterpart out of necessity.
He's killed for anger and a white man's name
He also killed a white man in anger, perhaps in revenge for something they did.
His name was Joseph Cross
The old man's name was Joseph Cross.
And he was raised by the mission
He was taken in and raised by the mission.
Just one of a hundred Indian boys
He was not the only Indian boy raised by the mission, there were many others.
That wouldn't tie his shoes
He was one of the Indian boys who refused to wear tied shoes, preferring instead to wear moccasins.
He cried the night his grandpa died
The old man cried the night his grandfather died.
And told him in a vision
Grandpa appeared to him in a vision and delivered a message.
"Stay close to the ways of the rattlesnake
Grandpa's message was "Stay close to the ways of the rattlesnake.
Stay close to the ways of the grizzly"
The second part of the message was "Stay close to the ways of the grizzly bear."
In the 1919
The events being described took place in the year 1919.
Chill of December
It was the cold month of December.
The bear and the rattler
Both a bear and a rattlesnake were present.
Coil sleepin' hardly breathin'
The bear and the rattlesnake were sleeping soundly and barely breathing.
It's a penny to the kitchen boy
A kitchen boy was offered a penny to run an errand.
To run get sister Lydia
The errand was to inform a woman named Lydia.
"Now you tell her that old Indian
Kitchen boy was given instructions on what to say to Lydia.
Is sleepin', hardly breathin'."
The message from kitchen boy was to inform Lydia that the old man was asleep and barely breathing.
Someone said it just weren't right
A person remarked that it wasn't the right thing to do.
To give him a white man's funeral
The person was referring to the prospect of giving the old man a white man's funeral.
Someone said they'd just as soon as not
Another person also shared the same opinion.
Float him on down the river
This person thought that the old man should be floated down the river instead.
But no one touched the ring
Despite this, nobody dared to take the ring off the old man's finger.
And no one said a thing about his chest
Also, nobody spoke a word about the wound on the old man's chest.
Where it looked like a bear had ripped him
The wound on his chest looked like it was caused by a bear attack.
And a rattler kissed his cheek
Furthermore, there was a snakebite on his cheek, indicating that he was also bitten by a rattlesnake.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID ERIC TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ragnboneman
wow i love this song so much, it brings back childhood memories mum used to play this album all the time. thanks!!
@houstonroadsideattractions2513
You should hear the original by Eric Taylor from 1981. Pure Texas Hill Country artistry at it's best.
@rhoddryice5412
I miss this album. An ex girlfriend nicked it from me when we broke up.
@artnouveau4332
Eric Taylor's song