After learning to play the guitar, the fiddle, and the piano, as well as to sing, Rusby played at many local folk festivals as a child and adolescent. She came to wider attention through her duets with her friend and fellow Barnsley folk singer Kathryn Roberts on the 1995 album Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts.
At about this time she joined, and became the lead vocalist of, the all-female Celtic folk band The Poozies. This led to her becoming a founding member of the group Equation, which included Kathryn Roberts and Seth Lakeman. Rusby left Equation (being replaced by Cara Dillon) to follow a more traditional direction and, in 1997, released her debut solo album Hourglass produced by Scottish fiddler John McCusker (to whom Rusby was married for some time).
In 1999 Rusby recorded Sleepless which earned her a Mercury Music Prize nomination and the BBC Folk Award for Best Album and Best Folk Singer.
Rusby continues to release albums mixing traditional and self-penned songs on her own Pure Records, winning fans as diverse as Graham Coxon (who provided the illustration for her album The Girl Who Couldn't Fly) and collaborator Ronan Keating.
2008 saw the release of Sweet Bells, an album of traditional Christmas songs interpreted by Rusby.
In 2010, Rusby released the album Make the Light, a collection of self-penned songs, and in 2011 issued a second collection of Christmas songs titled While Mortals Sleep.
www.katerusby.com
A Ballad
Kate Rusby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And cease thine hair to braid,
Thy love to thee will come no more,
He woos another maid,
And broken are the many vows,
That he hath pledged to thee,
He woos another maid, and this,
My bridal morn should be.
False to me oh say not so,
For if thy tale be true,
And the one that I love be lost to me,
I shall not live to rue,
And if he do take another mate,
Before the holy shrine,
Another ne'er shall have my heart,
Death will be a friend of mine.
She takes the robes from off her form,
And dons a snow white gown,
She loosened from her locks the braid,
And let her hair hang down,
She flung around her lovely head,
The thin shround of her veil,
To hide the fast ascending tears,
And cheek of moon ray pale.
With hurried yet, with careful steps,
Into the church she hides,
And there she saw the false of heart,
Receive another bride,
The bridal pageant swept along,
'Til all the train had fled,
Why stands the lone deserted one,
She slumbers with the dead
The song A Ballad tells a story of a woman who is heartbroken because her lover has left her and has chosen to marry another woman. In the first verse, the woman is told to take off her robe and stop braiding her hair because her lover won't come back to her. The vows that he made to her are broken, and he is now wooing another maid. It also reveals that the woman's wedding day has arrived, and she is alone because her lover has left her.
In the second verse, the woman responds to the news of her lover's betrayal. She is devastated and doesn't want to live if she cannot have him. She swears that she won't give her heart to anyone else and that death will be her friend. She also asks her lover not to lie to her and to tell her the truth.
In the third verse, the woman prepares for the wedding. She puts on a white gown, lets her hair down, and wears a veil to hide her tears. She then goes to the church where she sees her lover and his new bride. The bridal party moves along, and the woman is left standing alone, wondering what to do. The last line suggests that she has died and has been buried with the dead.
Line by Line Meaning
Take the robe from off thy form,
Remove your clothes
And cease thine hair to braid,
Stop braiding your hair
Thy love to thee will come no more,
Your love will not return to you
He woos another maid,
He is now courting someone else
And broken are the many vows,
He has broken his promises
That he hath pledged to thee,
The vows he made to you
He woos another maid, and this,
He is now courting someone else, and this
My bridal morn should be.
On what would have been my wedding day.
False to me oh say not so,
Please don't be dishonest with me
For if thy tale be true,
If what you say is true
And the one that I love be lost to me,
If the one I love is gone
I shall not live to rue,
I cannot go on living if this is true
And if he do take another mate,
If he marries someone else
Before the holy shrine,
In front of the religious altar
Another ne'er shall have my heart,
No one else will ever have my heart
Death will be a friend of mine.
Death will be preferable.
She takes the robes from off her form,
She removes her clothes
And dons a snow white gown,
And puts on a white dress
She loosened from her locks the braid,
She unbraided her hair
And let her hair hang down,
And let her hair fall free
She flung around her lovely head,
She put a veil over her head
The thin shround of her veil,
The thin fabric of her veil
To hide the fast ascending tears,
To hide her tears that are coming quickly
And cheek of moon ray pale.
Her face, pale as the moonlight.
With hurried yet, with careful steps,
She moves quickly but cautiously
Into the church she hides,
She goes inside the church and hides
And there she saw the false of heart,
And there she saw the deceitful person
Receive another bride,
Marrying another woman
The bridal pageant swept along,
The wedding procession passes by
'Til all the train had fled,
Until they have all left
Why stands the lone deserted one,
Why is she standing alone and abandoned?
She slumbers with the dead
She is dead and buried next to her heartbreak.
Contributed by Nathan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rachel Hise
Nice renditions that go well with Kate's wonderful music!
Jase Hogarth
Love this! Great work!
sarah wilson
She is singing in english but some of the words are from an older dialect and the style/form is more traditional.
Dustin Getz
Great song, good work with the vid.
Krystal Bibeau
beautifully done; you should check out some of my slideshows: naruto based, lol. dattebayo