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
The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All along by the Broomielaw
O it's there I met with a fair young maiden
She'd cherry cheeks and she'd skin like snow.
Says I, “Fair lassie, why do you wander
along by the Broomielaw?”
“O indeed, kind sir, I will plainly tell you,
“O lassie, lassie if you'll go with me
I'll dress you up in fine satins braw.”
“O indeed, kind sir, it's the truth I'll tell you
I've a lad of my own but he's far awa.”
“O lassie, lassie, you are hard-hearted
And I wish your fair face I never saw;
For my heart's aye bleeding, both night and morning
For the bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh.
“It's seven lang years that I've loved my sailor;
And seven long years since he went awa
Aye, and another seven I'll wait upon him
And I'll bleach my claes here on Kelvinhaugh.”
“O lassie, lassie, you have proved faithful
And you thought on me while I was awa;
Two hearts will surely be rewarded,
We'll part no more here on Kelvinhaugh.”
And now this couple, they have gotten married
And they keep an ale-house atween them twa
And the sailor laddies, they all go drinking
At the bleacher lassie's on Kelvinhaugh.
The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh is a narrative folk song that tells the story of a young woman who works as a bleacher in Kelvinhaugh. The singer meets a gentleman while walking along the Broomielaw, and he tries to persuade her to leave her job and stay with him. However, the woman turns him down, as she is waiting for her sailor love, who has been away for seven years. She remains faithful to him and continues to work hard at her job, bleaching clothes, until the day her lover returns.
The song touches upon various themes, including love, loyalty, and perseverance. The singer's unwavering dedication to her absent lover is commendable, and her resilience in the face of adversity is inspiring. Additionally, the song sheds light on the harsh living and working conditions of poor women in 19th-century Scotland.
Line by Line Meaning
As I was a-walking one fine summer's morning
As I was strolling on a pleasant summer morning
All along by the Broomielaw
Along the Broomielaw area
O it's there I met with a fair young maiden
There, I met a beautiful young lady
She'd cherry cheeks and she'd skin like snow.
She had rosy cheeks and snow-white skin
Says I, “Fair lassie, why do you wander
I said, "Fair lady, why are you wandering
along by the Broomielaw?”
in the Broomielaw area?"
“O indeed, kind sir, I will plainly tell you,
"Oh indeed, sir, I will tell you bluntly,
I'm a bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh.”
I'm a bleach girl who works in Kelvinhaugh."
“O lassie, lassie if you'll go with me
Oh girl, girl, if you come with me
I'll dress you up in fine satins braw.”
I will clothe you in beautiful satin."
“O indeed, kind sir, it's the truth I'll tell you
"Oh indeed, sir, I'll tell you the truth
I've a lad of my own but he's far awa.”
I have a man of my own, but he's far away."
“O lassie, lassie, you are hard-hearted
Oh girl, girl, you are cruel
And I wish your fair face I never saw;
And I wish I never saw your lovely face;
For my heart's aye bleeding, both night and morning
Because my heart is always aching, day and night
For the bleacher lassie on Kelvinhaugh.
For the bleach girl who works in Kelvinhaugh."
“It's seven lang years that I've loved my sailor;
"I've been loving my sailor for seven long years;
And seven long years since he went awa
And he's been gone for seven long years
Aye, and another seven I'll wait upon him
And I'll wait for him for another seven years
And I'll bleach my claes here on Kelvinhaugh.”
And I'll be bleaching my clothes here in Kelvinhaugh."
“O lassie, lassie, you have proved faithful
Oh girl, girl, you have been faithful
And you thought on me while I was awa;
And you thought of me while I was away;
Two hearts will surely be rewarded,
Two hearts will surely be rewarded
We'll part no more here on Kelvinhaugh.”
And we will never part here in Kelvinhaugh."
And now this couple, they have gotten married
And now this couple is married
And they keep an ale-house atween them twa
And they run a pub together
And the sailor laddies, they all go drinking
And the sailor lads all come to drink
At the bleacher lassie's on Kelvinhaugh.
At the bleach girl's place in Kelvinhaugh."
Contributed by Leo K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.