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 Bonny Boy
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I loved him, I will vow and protest
I loved him so well, and so very, very well,
That I built him a bower on my breast
I built him a bower on my breast
Well, it's up the long alley and down the green valley,
Like one that was troubled in mind
But no bonny boy could I find
But no bonny boy could I find
I sat myself down on a green mossy bank
Where the sun it shone wonderful warm;
And who should I spy but my own bonny boy
Fast locked in some other girl's arms
Fast locked in some other girl's arms
Now, the girl who's the joy of my own bonny boy
Let her make of him all that she can
And whether he loves me or whether he don't,
I'll walk with that boy now and then
I'll walk with that boy now and then…
The Bonny Boy is a song about lost love and heartbreak. The singer, who was once in love with a "bonny boy," confesses her love for him and describes how she built him a "bower on her breast," indicating her deep affection for him. However, she finds herself alone as she walks down the green valley, playing her flute and searching for her lost love. She eventually comes across her "own bonny boy" in the arms of another girl, shattering her heart. Despite this, she decides to continue walking with him occasionally, whether or not he loves her back.
The song is full of sadness and regret, but there is also a sense of acceptance and resilience. The singer has come to terms with the fact that her love may not be reciprocated, but she is still able to walk with him and appreciate his company despite her pain. The use of pastoral imagery in the song, such as the "green valley" and "green mossy bank," adds to the melancholic atmosphere of losing a loved one.
Line by Line Meaning
I once loved a boy, and a bonny, bonny boy
I used to be in love with a boy, a very handsome boy
And I loved him, I will vow and protest
I swear that I loved him deeply and passionately
I loved him so well, and so very, very well,
My love for him was strong and intense
That I built him a bower on my breast
I created a cozy and comfortable space for him in my heart
Well, it's up the long alley and down the green valley,
I searched high and low for him, through long and winding paths
Like one that was troubled in mind
As if I was a troubled soul, with a lot on my mind
I hollered and I whooped and I played upon my flute,
I shouted, screamed and played my flute to call him to me
But no bonny boy could I find
But sadly, I could not find him anywhere
I sat myself down on a green mossy bank
I rested on a soft and green bank of moss
Where the sun it shone wonderful warm;
Where the sunshine was warm and pleasant
And who should I spy but my own bonny boy
And suddenly, I saw my handsome boy
Fast locked in some other girl's arms
But unfortunately, he was in the embrace of another girl
Now, the girl who's the joy of my own bonny boy
The girl who brings happiness to my boy's life
Let her make of him all that she can
Let her take care of him and do whatever she wants with him
And whether he loves me or whether he don't,
Whether he loves me or not
I'll walk with that boy now and then
I'll still spend time with him occasionally
Contributed by Wyatt V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.