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
Queen Among The Heather
June Tabor Lyrics
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Over lofty hill, moorland and mountain,
It was there I met with a fine young girl,
While I with others was hunting.
No shoes nor stockings did she wear;
Neither had she hat nor had she feather,
But her golden curls, aye, and ringlets rare
I said, "Fair lassie, why roam your lane?
Why roam your lane among the heather?"
She said, "My father's away from home
And I'm herding of his ewes together."
I said, "Fair lassie, if you'll be mine
And you lie on a bed o' feathers,
In silks and satin it's you will shine,
And you'll be my queen among the heather."
She said, "Kind sir, your offer is good,
But I'm afraid it's meant for laughter,
For I know you are some rich squire's son
And I'm a poor lame shepherd's daughter."
Ah but had ye been some shepherd lad
A herding ewes among the heather
Or had been some ploughmans son
Its with all my heart I would have loved you
Now, I've been to balls and I have been to halls;
I have been to London and Balquhidder,
But the bonniest lassie that ever I did see
She was herding of her ewes together.
So we both sat down upon the plain.
We sat awhile and we talked together,
And we left the ewes for to stray their lane,
Till I won my queen among the heather.
The lyrics of "Queen Among The Heather" by June Tabor describe a chance encounter between the singer and a young girl while hunting in the hills. The girl is poorly dressed, with no shoes or hat, but her beauty is striking, with golden curls and ringlets that play around her shoulders in the breeze. When the singer asks why she is wandering among the heather, she explains that her father is away, and she is herding his ewes.
The singer is captivated by the girl's beauty and asks her to be his queen, promising her a life of luxury and comfort. However, the girl declines, believing that the offer is too good to be true and that the singer is only interested in her because of her beauty. She tells him that if he were a poor shepherd or plowman, she would have loved him with all her heart. The two sit down on the plain and talk, leaving the ewes to wander off on their own. Eventually, they fall in love, and the singer wins his queen among the heather.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, as I rode out one morning fair
As I was out riding on a beautiful morning
Over lofty hill, moorland and mountain,
Across the high hills, moors, and mountains
It was there I met with a fine young girl,
I came across a lovely young woman
While I with others was hunting.
While I was out hunting with my companions
No shoes nor stockings did she wear;
She wasn't wearing any shoes or stockings
Neither had she hat nor had she feather,
She wasn't wearing a hat or any adornments
But her golden curls, aye, and ringlets rare
Her beautiful golden curls and unusual ringlets
In the gentle breeze played round her shoulders.
Were blowing in the gentle breeze around her shoulders
I said, "Fair lassie, why roam your lane?
I asked her why she was wandering by herself
Why roam your lane among the heather?"
In the midst of the heather and open land?
She said, "My father's away from home
She explained that her father was absent from home
And I'm herding of his ewes together."
And she was busy herding his sheep together
I said, "Fair lassie, if you'll be mine
I proposed to her
And you lie on a bed o' feathers,
And if you'll share a bed with me that's soft as feathers
In silks and satin it's you will shine,
I promised that I'd dress her in beautiful silks and satin
And you'll be my queen among the heather."
And she'd be my queen in the wild open land
She said, "Kind sir, your offer is good,
She responded kindly to my proposal
But I'm afraid it's meant for laughter,
But she was afraid that it was a joke
For I know you are some rich squire's son
Because she knew I came from a wealthy family
And I'm a poor lame shepherd's daughter."
While she was just a simple shepherd's daughter
Ah but had ye been some shepherd lad
But if you had been a fellow shepherd
A herding ewes among the heather
Tending to sheep in the open land
Or had been some ploughmans son
Or the son of a ploughman
Its with all my heart I would have loved you
She would have fallen in love with me wholeheartedly
Now, I've been to balls and I have been to halls;
I've experienced high society events and places
I have been to London and Balquhidder,
I've traveled to London and Balquhidder
But the bonniest lassie that ever I did see
But the most beautiful young lady I've ever seen
She was herding of her ewes together.
Was out tending to her sheep
So we both sat down upon the plain.
We sat together on the open ground
We sat awhile and we talked together,
We had a nice conversation
And we left the ewes for to stray their lane,
We let the sheep wander on their own
Till I won my queen among the heather.
Until I won her heart and affection in the midst of the wild open land
Contributed by Camilla I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.