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
She Moves Among Men
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She pleads but they laugh and pull her down
And after they′ve used her briefly and roughly
They leave her to face the dawn alone
When they have gone she moves on her side
Thinks of the men that with her have lain
And none of them gave her a kind-worded loving
Once she was wary, chose but a few
To roll in her arms at the end of the day
But the flower so proud begins now to wither
That any may pluck at the petals so gay
Alone in the night she muses a while
And thinks of the days and how they will pass
She cries for the lonely years that awaiting
Till death takes her hand and weds her at last
Down in the barroom she moves among men
Who watch her and touch her whenever they can
And she notices hands and mouths as they drink
And over the tankards the eyes of each man
Speak to me gently before we begin...
The lyrics to June Tabor's song 'She Moves Among Men' are an emotional and melancholic portrayal of a woman who is used by men, and left alone to face the dawn. The opening line of the song, "Speak to me gently before we begin," is a plea for kindness and compassion from the men who use her. However, they ignore her request and instead laugh at her, pulling her down. The song goes on to describe how men use her briefly and roughly, without giving her any kindness or love, and how they leave her alone to face the consequences of their actions.
The song is a somber reflection on the harsh reality of women being objectified and used by men. The woman in the song is once proud, but begins to wither as any man can come and take advantage of her. She is left alone to reflect on the lonely years ahead and the inevitability of death.
The imagery in the lyrics is both powerful and brutal, painting a vivid picture of a woman who is struggling to find love, and who is being used and abused by men. It is a heartbreaking song that captures the pain and sadness of a woman who is trapped in a cycle of abuse, longing for someone to speak to her gently and treat her with kindness.
Line by Line Meaning
Speak to me gently before we begin
She begs for kind treatment before any intimacy begins.
She pleads but they laugh and pull her down
Despite her plea, they disregard and use her roughly.
And after they?ve used her briefly and roughly
Once they're done, they leave her alone to face the dawn.
They leave her to face the dawn alone
They leave her to wake up to a new day all alone.
When they have gone she moves on her side
Once they leave, she turns away from them.
Thinks of the men that with her have lain
She remembers all the men she's been intimate with.
And none of them gave her a kind-worded loving
None of them showed her any affection or love after they were done.
And after they'd done not one of them stayed
None of them stayed with her after they had their way.
Once she was wary, chose but a few
She used to be cautious and selective with who she engaged with.
To roll in her arms at the end of the day
To embrace and be intimate with at the end of a day.
But the flower so proud begins now to wither
Her once proud and confident demeanor is now fading.
That any may pluck at the petals so gay
Anyone can take advantage of her and her cheerful facade.
Alone in the night she muses a while
She spends time alone at night reflecting on her life.
And thinks of the days and how they will pass
She contemplates the future and how time will continue to pass her by.
She cries for the lonely years that awaiting
She weeps for the lonely years that lie ahead.
Till death takes her hand and weds her at last
She believes that death will be the only one to take her hand and truly be with her.
Down in the barroom she moves among men
She spends time with men in a barroom.
Who watch her and touch her whenever they can
These men ogle her and try to touch her as often as they can.
And she notices hands and mouths as they drink
She observes how the men use their hands and mouths while they drink.
And over the tankards the eyes of each man
She feels the gaze of every man in the barroom as they drink from their tankards.
Writer(s): Bill Caddick
Contributed by Kaylee G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.