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 Fair Maid of Wallington
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Five went to bride-bed and five are dead with child
Then it′s up spoke young Mary and it's single she would bide
For if ever she was in man′s bed, the same death she would die
"Oh, it's take no vows, Mary, for fear they broken be
For there is a knight in Wallington asking good will of thee"
"Oh, if there is a knight, mother, asking good will of me
Then it's in three quarters of a year you may bury me"
Well, she had not been in Wallington three quarters and a day
Till she was as big with baby as any lady
"Oh, is there not a boy in this
Town that would win up hosen and shoen?"
Then it′s up spoke a page-boy, "Your errand I will run!"
"Give respects to my mother as she sits in her chair of stone
Ask her how she likes the news of seven to have but one"
When her mother she heard the news, in anger cried she
And she′s kicked the table with her foot and kicked it with her knee
Then she's called for her waiting-maid and also her stable-groom
"Come fetch me my cloak and go saddle up the brown"
But when they came to Wallington and into Wallington Hall
There was four-and-twenty ladies that let the tears down fall
And her daughter, she had a scope into her cheek and into her chin
All for to keep her sweet life till her mother she come in
Now she′s taken a razor that was both sharp and fine
And from out of her left side she's took the heir to Wallington
"Oh, there is a race in Wallington, and that I rue full sore
Though the cradle it be well spread up, the bride-bed is left bare"
And when we were silly sisters, seven sisters were so mild
Five went to bride-bed and five are dead with child
Then it′s up spoke young Mary and it's single she would bide
For if ever she was in man′s bed, the same death she would die
The song "The Fair Maid of Wallington" by June Tabor tells the story of a young woman named Mary who refuses to marry and sleep with a man because she fears the same fate that her sisters, who are now dead, had experienced. Despite her reluctance, a knight from Wallington shows interest in her and she eventually goes to his bed. However, as soon as she gets pregnant, she realizes that her worst fears are confirmed and she decides to take action. She sends a message to her mother announcing that instead of having one child, the family will have seven. Her mother, furious at the news, travels to Wallington to confront her daughter. Mary, aware of her mother's intentions, takes a razor and kills the baby in her womb, thereby stopping the family cycle of misery and death. In the end, the song highlights the tragedy of a society that enforces strict expectations on women and denounces those who resist those expectations.
The lyrics of the song are full of symbolism and innuendos. The seven sisters allude to the seven deadly sins, while Mary represents virginity and innocence. The mother's anger and violent outburst signify the societal pressure on women to conform to traditional gender roles. The razor that Mary uses to kill her baby could also be interpreted as a phallic symbol, signifying both her defiance against patriarchal norms and her willingness to sacrifice herself to break the cycle of abuse.
Line by Line Meaning
When we were silly sisters, seven sisters were so mild
In the past, when we were naive and inexperienced as sisters, we were all pleasant and gentle with each other.
Five went to bride-bed and five are dead with child
Out of the five sisters who got married, all five died after giving birth to a child.
Then it′s up spoke young Mary and it's single she would bide
At this point, Mary spoke up, saying that she would remain unmarried.
For if ever she was in man′s bed, the same death she would die
Mary was determined to remain chaste, and believed that if she ever broke her vow, she would suffer the same fate as her sisters.
Oh, it's take no vows, Mary, for fear they broken be
Someone advised Mary not to make any vows, because they can be easily broken.
For there is a knight in Wallington asking good will of thee
There is a knight in Wallington who wishes to court Mary and marry her.
Oh, if there is a knight, mother, asking good will of me
Mary responded to her mother's news about the knight by saying that if it was true, she would likely die within three quarters of a year.
Then it's in three quarters of a year you may bury me
Mary was certain that if she gave in to the knight's advances, she would soon die like her sisters.
Well, she had not been in Wallington three quarters and a day
After being in Wallington for just over three quarters of a year, Mary got pregnant.
Till she was as big with baby as any lady
She had a visibly pregnant belly, like any other pregnant woman.
Oh, is there not a boy in this
Town that would win up hosen and shoen?
Mary was hoping to find a boy who could run an errand for her in town.
Then it′s up spoke a page-boy, 'Your errand I will run!'
A page-boy offered to run Mary's errand for her.
Give respects to my mother as she sits in her chair of stone
Ask her how she likes the news of seven to have but one
Mary requested that the page-boy pass along her message to her mother, informing her that Mary was the only sister left alive.
When her mother she heard the news, in anger cried she
And she′s kicked the table with her foot and kicked it with her knee
When Mary's mother heard the news that all her other daughters had died, she was filled with anger and frustration, and physically lashed out by kicking a nearby table.
Then she's called for her waiting-maid and also her stable-groom
'Come fetch me my cloak and go saddle up the brown'
Mary's mother immediately summoned her maid and stable-groom to prepare her horse for her journey to Wallington.
But when they came to Wallington and into Wallington Hall
There was four-and-twenty ladies that let the tears down fall
When Mary's mother and her servants arrived at Wallington Hall, they found that there were 24 women there, all crying.
And her daughter, she had a scope into her cheek and into her chin
All for to keep her sweet life till her mother she come in
Mary was doing everything she could to hold on to her life until her mother arrived to help her.
Now she′s taken a razor that was both sharp and fine
And from out of her left side she's took the heir to Wallington
Mary, in desperation, used a razor to perform a self-abortion and remove the heir to Wallington from her womb.
Oh, there is a race in Wallington, and that I rue full sore
Though the cradle it be well spread up, the bride-bed is left bare
Mary's mother was distraught that her family's lineage and wealth would now pass to someone outside of their family, since Mary aborted the heir to Wallington.
And when we were silly sisters, seven sisters were so mild
Five went to bride-bed and five are dead with child
Then it′s up spoke young Mary and it's single she would bide
For if ever she was in man′s bed, the same death she would die
The song circles back to the beginning, emphasizing that out of seven sisters, five became pregnant and died, leaving Mary the only survivor. Mary had vowed to remain unmarried, for fear of the same fate that befell her sisters.
Writer(s): Dp, June Tabor, Mark Emerson
Contributed by Jason E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.