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
Awkward Annie
Kate Rusby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You gave it back again,
Without it's eggs, My Annie.
I gave to you a hare,
You really didn't care,
Now it has no legs, My Annie.
Oh Annie let me in,
I will die if you don't come near me,
Oh no, don't you say so,
You are my dear, My Annie
Oh Annie let me in,
I will fly, I will swim,
I will die if you don't come near me,
Oh no, don't you say so,
You are my dear, My Annie
I gave to you a dog,
You threw for it a log,
Now it won't come back, My Annie.
I gave to you a pig,
It wasn't very big,
Now the meats all black, My Annie.
Oh Annie let me in,
I will fly, I will swim,
I will die if you don't come near me,
Oh no, don't you say so,
You are my dear, My Annie
I gave to you a cow,
You really don't know how,
It flew away, My Annie.
I gave to you a horse,
A silly fool of course,
For you rode away, My...
Annie let me in,
I will fly, I will swim,
I will die if you don't come...
Annie let me in,
I will fly, I will swim,
I will die if you don't come near me,
Oh no, don't you say so,
You are my dear, My...
Annie let me in,
I will fly, I will swim,
I will die if you don't come near me,
Oh no, don't you say so,
You are my dear, My Annie
I gave to you my heart,
You tore it all apart,
When you rode away,
My Annie
The lyrics of "Awkward Annie" by Kate Rusby tell the story of a lover who gives gifts to someone named Annie but receives no appreciation in return. The lover begins by giving Annie a hen, but she returns it without its eggs. The same thing happens when the lover gives a hare that Annie doesn't care for and ends up leaving it without legs. As the song continues, the presents become more desperate, including a dog that Annie throws a log at, a small pig that turns black, and ultimately, a cow that flies away and a horse that Annie rides away on. Through all of these gifts, the lover pleads with Annie to let them in, vowing to fly, swim, or even die if needed to be with her. But in the end, Annie returns the gift of the lover's heart by tearing it apart when she leaves.
One possible interpretation of the song is that it's a cautionary tale about unrequited love, where one person gives too much to someone who is not interested or reciprocating. The gifts become increasingly absurd, showing the desperation of the lover who cannot win Annie's heart no matter what they do. Despite the playful nature of the song, there's a sadness to the story of losing everything that you've given and even risking your life to be with someone who doesn't care.
Line by Line Meaning
I gave to you a hen,
I trusted you with something valuable and you returned it to me without the thing that was most important about it.
You gave it back again,
You returned the hen to me, but it was not in the same state in which I had given it to you.
Without it's eggs, My Annie.
You returned the hen to me without the eggs that it had laid, which was the whole point of having the hen.
I gave to you a hare,
I gave you another valuable thing to take care of.
You really didn't care,
You did not seem to take care of this thing I had given you.
Now it has no legs, My Annie.
Whatever you did with the hare, it has suffered and is no longer in good condition.
Oh Annie let me in,
I want to come into your life and be close to you.
I will fly, I will swim,
I am willing to go to great lengths to be with you.
I will die if you don't come near me,
Being close to you is so important to me that I am willing to die if it means I cannot be with you.
Oh no, don't you say so,
Please don't reject me or say that you don't feel the same way.
You are my dear, My Annie
You are an important and cherished person in my life.
You threw for it a log,
You did something careless or harmful to the dog that I gave to you.
Now it won't come back, My Annie.
Whatever you did to the dog has made it run away or be unable to return to you.
It wasn't very big,
The pig I gave to you was not necessarily important or impressive.
Now the meats all black, My Annie.
Whatever you did with the pig has made it inedible or unappetizing.
I gave to you a cow,
I gave you something very valuable and important.
You really don't know how,
You did something clumsy or ignorant with the cow.
It flew away, My Annie.
Whatever you did with the cow has made it escape or disappear.
A silly fool of course,
The horse I gave you was not necessarily intelligent or skillful.
For you rode away, My...
Whatever you did with the horse, you used it to escape or leave me behind.
I gave to you my heart,
I gave you my love and devotion.
You tore it all apart,
You hurt me deeply and destroyed my feelings of love.
When you rode away,
You left me behind and abandoned our relationship.
My Annie
The person I am addressing in this song, who means a great deal to me.
Contributed by Owen R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Smolly Anne
This is my 6 month old baby daughter's favourite song in the whole world. Whenever she hears it she instantly stops what she's doing and her little face lights up! It's magical :)
Kellyann Chard
Does she still like this song 🖤
jasmine_maya
She has good taste! 😂 Awww
Michelle Denny
that's so sweet
Allie Cowley
Thats adorable ☺☺
Meg Austin
We sang this in my primary school in 2008 when i was 8 years old, and this is the first time I've ever searched for it. I still remember it word for word and her voice is beautiful.
Allie Cowley
I wish i had been taught songs like this at school!
Ruby Mae Crockett
Aaah I did this song with my friend when I was around the same age for the talent show and we won :D
Ruby Mae Crockett
I remember singing this in year 3 with my friend Annie for the school talent show and we won! I’ll always cherish Kate Rusby’s music, she’s the best ✨
juliia
i sung this song with my choir at a concert, my dad said "Oh that song was lovely, what is it?" When I had been playing it non-stop because I love it