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 Great Selkie of Sule Skerry
June Tabor Lyrics
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And aye she sings, "Ba lilly wean,
Little ken I, my bairns father,
Far less the land that he staps in."
Then ane arose at her bed fit,
And a grumly guest I'm sure was he,
Saying "Here am I, thy bairns father,
I am a man upon the land,
I am a silkie in the sea,
And when I'm far frae every strand,
My home it is in Sule Skerry."
€œIt was na weelâ€, the maiden cried,
€œIt was na weel, indeed†quo she,
€œFor the Great Silkie of Sule Skerrie,
To hae come and aught a bairn to me!â€
Then he has taken a purse of gold,
And he has laid it on her knee,
Saying, "give to me, my little young son,
And take thee up thy nouriss fee.
It shall come to pass on a summer's day,
When the sun shines hot on every stone,
That I shall take my little young son,
And teach him for to swim the foam.
And thou shalt marry a proud gunner,
And a very proud gunner I'm sure he'll be,
And the very first shot that e're he shoots,
He'll kill both my young son and me."
The lyrics of June Tabor's song "The Great Selkie of Sule Skerry" narrate a story about a woman who gives birth to a child fathered by a selkie, a mythical creature resembling a seal in the water and a human on land. The story is set in Sule Skerry, an islet north of Scotland where the selkie is said to dwell with his kind. The woman sings a lullaby to her child, wondering about the identity and whereabouts of his father. Suddenly, a man appears at her bedside, announcing himself as the baby's father and revealing that he is a selkie who can shift between human and seal form. He acknowledges the hardships imposed by his dual nature and his separation from his child, but still claims his role as the father.
The woman expresses fear and anger at the selkie's intrusion and his deception, as she considers him to have violated her privacy and her maternal bond with her son. However, the selkie tries to offer her a compensation by offering her a purse of gold in exchange for his child's custody and promising to return for him and teach him to swim. He also predicts a tragic fate for the woman and her future husband, who will unknowingly kill both the selkie and his son. The song portrays the sorrowful and conflicted relationship between the human and the natural world, as well as the inevitable confrontations and losses that result from their interactions.
Line by Line Meaning
An earthly nourris sits and sings,
A mortal nurse is seated, singing sweetly.
And aye she sings, "Ba lilly wean,
And always she sings, "Hushabye, little one,
Little ken I, my bairns father,
I know little of the father of my child,
Far less the land that he staps in."
Much less where he comes from."
Then ane arose at her bed fit,
Then one appeared at her feet,
And a grumly guest I'm sure was he,
And a surly stranger he surely was,
Saying "Here am I, thy bairns father,
Saying "I am here, the father of your child,
Although I am not comely."
Even though I'm not attractive."
I am a man upon the land,
I'm a man when I'm on land,
I am a silkie in the sea,
I'm a seal when I'm in the sea,
And when I'm far frae every strand,
And when I'm far from any shore,
My home it is in Sule Skerry."
My home is on Sule Skerry."
“It was na weel”, the maiden cried,
"It was not right", the maiden cried,
“It was na weel, indeed” quo she,
"It was not right, indeed" she said,
“For the Great Silkie of Sule Skerrie,
"To have come and fathered a child on me,
To hae come and aught a bairn to me!'"
Was not right!" she wept."
Then he has taken a purse of gold,
Then he took out a purse of gold,
And he has laid it on her knee,
And he placed it on her lap,
Saying, "give to me, my little young son,
Saying, "Give me my little son,
And take thee up thy nouriss fee.
And take your payment for nursing him."
It shall come to pass on a summer's day,
It will happen on a summer day,
When the sun shines hot on every stone,
When the sun shines hot on every stone,
That I shall take my little young son,
I will take my little son,
And teach him for to swim the foam.
And teach him to swim in the sea."
And thou shalt marry a proud gunner,
And you will marry a proud gunner,
And a very proud gunner I'm sure he'll be,
And he will surely be a very proud gunner
And the very first shot that e're he shoots,
And the very first shot that he ever takes,
He'll kill both my young son and me."
He will kill both my son and me."
Contributed by Peyton E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
telemachus53
So this must be the traditional original tune written down by Otto Anderson - and not the version made famous by Joan Baez et al. If only I'd known it before. Brilliant rendering and arrangement.
ariel4kees
no it is not.....look for the version by the Corries.....
whynottalklikeapirat
There are many versions old and new. This one had some of the language modernized.
Ken Fare
Not the best version I’ve heard. Too many English folk tropes, fair maid!