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
Young Waters
June Tabor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh there is come to our kings court many well favoured man.
The queen looked over the castle wall beheld both vale and down
And there she spied young Water come a riding to the town.
His footmen they did run before and his horsemen rode behind
A mantel of the burning gold to keep him from the wind
Gold and honest his horse before and silver short behind
Then up spoke a wildly lord and unto the queen says he
Oh tell me who is the fairest face rides in the company
Oh I′ve seen lord and I've seen laird and knights of high degree
But young Waters is the fairest face that ever mine eyes did see.
Then up spoke the jealous king and an angry man was he
Oh if he had been twice as fair you might have accepted me
You′re neither lord nor laird she said, but the king that wears the crown
And there is not a knight in all of Scotland but to thee must bow down
But for all that she could do or say a pleased he would not be
And for the words that the queen had spoke young Waters he must die
And they have taken young Waters and put fetters on his feet
And they have taken young Waters and thrown him in dungeons deep
Oft have I ridden to Sterling town in the wind both and the wet
But I never rode to Sterling town with fetters on my feet
Oft have I ridden to Sterling town in the wind both and the rain
But I never rode to Sterling town never to return again
For they have taken to the heading hill, his young son in his cradle
And they have taken to the heading hill, his horse both and his saddle
And they have taken to the heading hill his lady fair to see
And for the words that the queen had spoke young Waters he did die
The lyrics of June Tabor's song "Young Waters" narrate a tragic story of love and jealousy. The king's court hosts many well-favored men, and the queen surveys the scene from the castle wall. She spots Young Waters, who has come to town, riding on a swift horse and dressed in a mantle of burning gold. One of the lords praises his looks, and the queen agrees that he is the fairest face she has ever seen. The king, however, angry with jealousy, declares that the queen would have accepted him even if he were twice as fair. The queen reminds the king that he is the ruler of Scotland, and no knight should be above him. But the king is displeased, and Young Waters is sentenced to death. Despite the queen's efforts, he is put in fetters and thrown into a dungeon. Young Waters laments that he has never ridden to Sterling town with fetters on his feet and knows that he will never return again.
The lyrics are a retelling of a Child ballad, a collection of traditional Scottish and English ballads compiled by Francis James Child in the late 19th century. The ballad's full name is "Young Waters: A Scottish Tragedy," describing the story of a man unjustly put to death. The ballad was widely popular in Scotland and England, and several renditions exist, with variations in the lyrics and tune. Some scholars speculate that the story could be based on true events, although no evidence supports the claim.
Line by Line Meaning
All about you and the winds blows cold, and the round tables begin
It's chilly outside and people are gathering for an event.
Oh there is come to our kings court many well favoured man.
There are many handsome men here at court.
The queen looked over the castle wall beheld both vale and down
The queen looked out over the countryside from the castle wall.
And there she spied young Water come a riding to the town.
She saw a man named Young Waters riding towards the town.
His footmen they did run before and his horsemen rode behind
Young Waters had footmen running ahead of him and horsemen following behind.
A mantel of the burning gold to keep him from the wind
He was wearing a golden cloak to protect him from the wind.
Gold and honest his horse before and silver short behind
His horse was adorned with gold in the front and silver in the back.
The horse young Waters rode upon was swifter than the wind.
His horse was very fast.
Then up spoke a wildly lord and unto the queen says he
A lord spoke up and addressed the queen.
Oh tell me who is the fairest face rides in the company
Who is the most attractive person here?
Oh I′ve seen lord and I've seen laird and knights of high degree
I've seen many high-ranking men.
But young Waters is the fairest face that ever mine eyes did see.
Young Waters is the most attractive man I've ever seen.
Then up spoke the jealous king and an angry man was he
The king spoke up and he was very angry.
Oh if he had been twice as fair you might have accepted me
If he were twice as handsome, you would have chosen me instead.
You′re neither lord nor laird she said, but the king that wears the crown
You may be neither a lord nor a laird, but you are still the king.
And there is not a knight in all of Scotland but to thee must bow down
All of the knights in Scotland must respect and submit to you.
But for all that she could do or say a pleased he would not be
The king was not happy regardless of what the queen said.
And for the words that the queen had spoke young Waters he must die
The king ordered Young Waters to be executed because of what the queen said.
And they have taken young Waters and put fetters on his feet
They put shackles on Young Waters' feet.
And they have taken young Waters and thrown him in dungeons deep
They put Young Waters in a dark, deep dungeon.
Oft have I ridden to Sterling town in the wind both and the wet
I have often ridden in bad weather to Sterling town.
But I never rode to Sterling town with fetters on my feet
I have never gone to Sterling town in shackles.
Oft have I ridden to Sterling town in the wind both and the rain
I've ridden to Sterling town in bad weather before.
But I never rode to Sterling town never to return again
But I have never ridden to Sterling town and not returned.
For they have taken to the heading hill, his young son in his cradle
They took Young Waters' infant child to the execution site.
And they have taken to the heading hill, his horse both and his saddle
They also took his horse and saddle to the site.
And they have taken to the heading hill his lady fair to see
They brought Young Waters' lover to witness his execution.
And for the words that the queen had spoke young Waters he did die
Young Waters was executed because of the queen's words.
Writer(s): Dp, Tabor June
Contributed by Noah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Elizabeth Will
Beautiful voice.
Ruth Cooke
Superb gravitas, beautiful dronework
Travis Roth
This is beauty
Pia Maria Hamberg
Så vackert underbar röst
jag ryser⚘⚘⚘
L. Cox
Lovely.
moufleboulgoure
wow...
sun ra ra
Che Sun Ra la illumini!!!