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
The Duke and the Tinker
Kate Rusby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He pleased himself with his frolicsome sport
He found a poor tinker lying drunk on the ground
In such a deep sleep he heard not a sound
He said to his men, Richard, William, and Ben
We'll away to my palace and we'll sport with him then
He was carefully carried to the palace so grand
They stripped him down bare and he had not a care
They washed down his body, his face and his hair
They put on a nightgown of bright crimson and red
And left him to sleep in the duke's golden bed
In the morning when day, then admiring he lay
For to see the rich chamber both gaudy and gay
He looked all around him and was so amazed
And admired how he to this honor was raised
Though he seemed somewhat mute, he chose a rich suit
Which he straightway put on without longer dispute
From a place of convenience, the duke his good grace
Observed the man, in every case
A fine dinner was dressed both for him and his guests
He was placed at the table above all the rest
He had wine, he had brandy and soon he did snore
Being seven times drunker than ever before
Then the duke did ordain they should strip him again
And restore him to a tinker, and to ever remain
Again he was carried to the side of the road
Back once again where they first found their load
He slept all the night as indeed he well might
But when he did waken his joys took their flight
Oh the power and the glory so pleasant did seem
He thought it to be but a mere golden dream
The Duke and the Tinker is a traditional folk song that tells a story of a young Duke who finds a poor tinker lying drunk on the ground. He decides to take him back to his palace, where they strip him down and dress him up in lavish clothes, placing him in the Duke's golden bed. The next day, the tinker wakes up, admiring the rich chamber and choosing to put on a rich suit. He dines with the Duke and his guests, getting very drunk from the wine and brandy. The next morning, the Duke orders for the tinker to be stripped once again and for him to be returned to his life on the road. The tinker awakens, realizing it was all just a dream and that he is back where he began.
The lyrics suggest that the Duke is using his power to have fun at the expense of the lower classes. He takes the helpless tinker and uses him to entertain himself and his guests. However, when the tinker wakes up the next day, he feels the opposite. He is struck by the opulence of the palace and the status he was given, while recognizing that it was all fleeting and he must return to his simple life. The song is a commentary on social hierarchy and the use of power for pleasure.
Line by Line Meaning
As fame reports a young duke kept a court
Legend has it that a young duke held a court
He pleased himself with his frolicsome sport
He indulged in his own playful entertainment
He found a poor tinker lying drunk on the ground
He discovered an intoxicated tinker lying on the earth
In such a deep sleep he heard not a sound
The tinker was sleeping so soundly, he didn't stir
He said to his men, Richard, William, and Ben
He ordered his men, Richard, William, and Ben,
We'll away to my palace and we'll sport with him then
To my palace, we'll bring him and have some fun
He was carefully carried to the palace so grand
He was gingerly taken to the majestic palace
None would compare in all of this land
No other place in the kingdom could rival its elegance
They stripped him down bare and he had not a care
They undressed him but he was completely unaffected by it
They washed down his body, his face and his hair
They bathed him from head to toe
They put on a nightgown of bright crimson and red
They dressed him in a vividly colored nightgown
And left him to sleep in the duke's golden bed
They allowed him to slumber in the duke's luxurious bed
In the morning when day, then admiring he lay
Next morning, as he woke up, he gazed in awe
For to see the rich chamber both gaudy and gay
At the sight of the extravagant and colorful chambers
He looked all around him and was so amazed
He was stunned as he looked around him
And admired how he to this honor was raised
He wondered how he had been bestowed with such honor
Though he seemed somewhat mute, he chose a rich suit
Although he was quite silent, he selected a lavish outfit
Which he straightway put on without longer dispute
He put it on without any objection
From a place of convenience, the duke his good grace
The duke bestowed him with his favor from mere convenience
Observed the man, in every case
He watched him closely, no matter the situation
A fine dinner was dressed both for him and his guests
A sumptuous feast was prepared for him and other guests
He was placed at the table above all the rest
He was seated at the head of the table
He had wine, he had brandy and soon he did snore
He drank wine and brandy till he passed out
Being seven times drunker than ever before
He was more inebriated than he had ever been
Then the duke did ordain they should strip him again
The duke commanded them to remove his clothes again
And restore him to a tinker, and to ever remain
And make him a tinker once more, forevermore
Again he was carried to the side of the road
They took him back to the side of the road again
Back once again where they first found their load
To the exact spot where they had first seen him
He slept all the night as indeed he well might
He slept soundly the entire night, as he should
But when he did waken his joys took their flight
But when he woke up, his happiness vanished
Oh the power and the glory so pleasant did seem
The power and the grandeur appeared so delightful
He thought it to be but a mere golden dream
He believed it to be only a transient dream of luxury
Contributed by Jacob O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
William Bulla
THE FOOL'S PRAYER
by: Edward Rowland Sill (1841-1887)
HE royal feast was done; the King
Sought some new sport to banish care,
And to his jester cried: "Sir Fool,
Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!"
The jester doffed his cap and bells,
And stood the mocking court before;
They could not see the bitter smile
Behind the painted grin he wore.
He bowed his head, and bent his knee
Upon the Monarch's silken stool;
His pleading voice arose: "O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
"No pity, Lord, could change the heart
From red with wrong to white as wool;
The rod must heal the sin: but Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
"'T is not by guilt the onward sweep
Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
'T is by our follies that so long
We hold the earth from heaven away.
"These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end;
These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heart-strings of a friend.
"The ill-timed truth we might have kept--
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
The word we had not sense to say--
Who knows how grandly it had rung!
"Our faults no tenderness should ask.
The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
But for our blunders -- oh, in shame
Before the eyes of heaven we fall.
"Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!"
The room was hushed; in silence rose
The King, and sought his gardens cool,
And walked apart, and murmured low,
"Be merciful to me, a fool!"
.
.
.
Will
Caity Doyle
I went to see Kate Rusby many years ago, a couple of times, she was amazing x
Wandering Belle ASMR
this is such a feel good, hilarious song, i can't picture anyone but Kate Rusby doing this as perfectly as she does!
TomRAFC
in recent years she has done a much more upbeat version of this live and both are brilliant
William Bulla
THE FOOL'S PRAYER
by: Edward Rowland Sill (1841-1887)
HE royal feast was done; the King
Sought some new sport to banish care,
And to his jester cried: "Sir Fool,
Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!"
The jester doffed his cap and bells,
And stood the mocking court before;
They could not see the bitter smile
Behind the painted grin he wore.
He bowed his head, and bent his knee
Upon the Monarch's silken stool;
His pleading voice arose: "O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
"No pity, Lord, could change the heart
From red with wrong to white as wool;
The rod must heal the sin: but Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
"'T is not by guilt the onward sweep
Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
'T is by our follies that so long
We hold the earth from heaven away.
"These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end;
These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heart-strings of a friend.
"The ill-timed truth we might have kept--
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
The word we had not sense to say--
Who knows how grandly it had rung!
"Our faults no tenderness should ask.
The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
But for our blunders -- oh, in shame
Before the eyes of heaven we fall.
"Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!"
The room was hushed; in silence rose
The King, and sought his gardens cool,
And walked apart, and murmured low,
"Be merciful to me, a fool!"
.
.
.
Will
LOST IN MUSIC
I like it a lot and therefore it´s in my World & Folk playlist
Lunay LeZarde
This song is both a grand joke and a grand gesture of kindness. 'Twould make a great animated short, the story would. Dunno if the best voicing would be Welsh, Irish, or Scots...maybe some mixture of the 3. Now, if only I could attract a cast, crew, director, producer, and financial backing. Anybody know Pixar's number?
John Keppel
Very Kate Rusby. I have a friend from Dublin called Daoiri Farrell who would also do this song justice.
JulianGreystoke
This is completely the prologue to the Shakespeare Play Taming of the Shrew!!
Kesukei
@CarlGorn - Kate Rusby is actually English, from Yorkshire.
phlarrdboi
thats our kate :)