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 Old Man
Kate Rusby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As you can plainly see
He said he could do as much work in a day
As his wife could do in three
With all my heart the woman she said
If that’s what you will allow
Tomorrow you’ll stay at home in my stead
But you must milk our Tidy the cow
For fear she will go dry
You must feed the littlest pigs
That are within the sty
And you must mind the speckled hen
For fear she’ll lay away
And then you must reel the spool of yarn
That I spun yesterday
The woman she took up her staff in her hand
And she went to drive the plough
The old man took up a pale in his hand
And he went to milk the cow
But Tidy hinched and Tidy flinched
And Tidy broke his nose
And Tidy she gave to him such a big blow
The poor man took to his toes
Hi Tidy home Tidy
Tidy thou stand still
If ever I’m ill be tidy again,
Be sore against my will
He went to feed the little pigs
That were within the sty
He hit his big head upon a thick beam
And he made his red blood fly
He went to find the speckledy hen
For fear she’d lay astray
Forgot to reel the spool of yarn
His wife spun yesterday
He swore by the sun, the moon, the stars,
The green leaves on the tree
If his wife didn’t do a days work in her life
She won’t be ruled by he
There was an old man who lived in a wood
As you can plainly see
He said he could do as much work in a day
As his wife could do in three
With all my heart the woman she said
If that’s what you will allow
Tomorrow you’ll stay at home in my stead
And I go drive the plough
Kate Rusby’s song “The Old Man” tells a story of an elderly man who claimed he could do as much work in a single day as his wife could do in three. Taking up the challenge, his wife agrees to swap roles for the day. However, the man struggled to complete tasks such as milking their cow, feeding the pigs and finding the speckled hen to collect eggs. In the end, he realised the importance of his wife's hard work and let go of his ego, not wanting to be ruled over his wife.
The song is a beautiful and humorous portrayal of the importance of hard work and working together in relationships. The catchy melody and memorable lyrics make the song a fan favourite. It also highlights the traditional gender roles in society and how they have changed over time.
Line by Line Meaning
There was an old man who lived in a wood
Once, there was an elderly man who lived inside a forest.
As you can plainly see
As the story goes.
He said he could do as much work in a day
The old man claimed that he could accomplish an equal amount of labor in a single day.
As his wife could do in three
In comparison to what his spouse could complete in three days.
With all my heart the woman she said
The woman spoke wholeheartedly.
If that's what you will allow
Provided that the man agreed to her request.
Tomorrow you'll stay at home in my stead
The following day, the man will remain at home as a replacement for the woman.
And I go drive the plough
Meanwhile, the woman will drive the plow in his place.
But you must milk our Tidy the cow
Before leaving, she instructed him to milk their cow Tidy.
For fear she will go dry
So that the cow doesn't run out of milk.
You must feed the littlest pigs
Additionally, he must feed the smallest pigs.
That are within the sty
The ones kept inside the pigsty.
And you must mind the speckled hen
He also needed to take care of the speckled hen.
For fear she'll lay away
Lest she lays her eggs in another place.
And then you must reel the spool of yarn
Lastly, he needed to wind up the yarn spun by his wife the day before.
That I spun yesterday
On the previous day, it was his wife who spun the yarn.
The woman she took up her staff in her hand
The woman took her staff and held it.
And she went to drive the plough
She went to drive the plow, as previously agreed upon.
The old man took up a pale in his hand
Meanwhile, the old man picked up a bucket.
And he went to milk the cow
And went to milk Tidy the cow.
But Tidy hinched and Tidy flinched
However, Tidy dodged and moved her body.
And Tidy broke his nose
Tidy accidentally hit the man's nose with her head.
And Tidy she gave to him such a big blow
As a result, Tidy gave him a strong hit.
The poor man took to his toes
The man hurriedly left the place.
Hi Tidy home Tidy
He called out to the cow, Tidy.
Tidy thou stand still
Asking her to stay put.
If ever I'm ill be tidy again,
Promising to treat her well if he ever gets sick.
Be sore against my will
Even if he doesn't like it.
He went to feed the little pigs
Next, he went to feed the smallest pigs.
That were within the sty
The ones inside the pigsty.
He hit his big head upon a thick beam
Unfortunately, he accidentally bumped his head on a thick, sturdy beam.
And he made his red blood fly
As a result, he started to bleed profusely.
He went to find the speckledy hen
Lastly, he went to look for the speckled hen.
For fear she'd lay astray
In case the hen lays her eggs in the wrong place.
Forgot to reel the spool of yarn
He forgot to wind up the yarn spun by his wife the day before.
His wife spun yesterday
On the previous day, his wife was the one who spun the yarn.
He swore by the sun, the moon, the stars, the green leaves on the tree
He made an oath, claiming the authenticity of his statement by the four natural wonders.
If his wife didn't do a day's work in her life
He declared that if his wife refuses to work diligently again.
She won't be ruled by he
He won't be able to control her anymore.
Contributed by Amelia M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@areylaurens9714
There was an old man who lived in a wood
As you can plainly see
He said he could do as much work in a day
As his wife could do in three
With all my heart the woman she said
If that’s what you will allow
Tomorrow you’ll stay at home in my stead
And I go drive the plough
But you must milk our Tidy the cow
For fear she will go dry
You must feed the littlest pigs
That are within the sty
And you must mind the speckled hen
For fear she’ll lay away
And then you must reel the spool of yarn
That I spun yesterday
The woman she took up her staff in her hand
And she went to drive the plough
The old man took up a pale in his hand
And he went to milk the cow
But Tidy hinched and Tidy flinched
And Tidy broke his nose
And Tidy she gave to him such a big blow
The poor man took to his toes
Hi Tidy home Tidy
Tidy thou stand still
If ever I’m ill be tidy again
Be sore against my will
He went to feed the little pigs
That were within the sty
He hit his big head upon a thick beam
And he made his red blood fly
He went to find the speckledy hen
For fear she’d lay astray
Forgot to reel the spool of yarn
His wife spun yesterday
He swore by the sun, the moon, the stars
The green leaves on the tree
If his wife didn’t do a days work in her life
She won’t be ruled by he
There was an old man who lived in a wood
As you can plainly see
He said he could do as much work in a day
As his wife could do in three
With all my heart the woman she said
If that’s what you will allow
Tomorrow you’ll stay at home in my stead
And I go drive the plough
@TheIglooChick
Great song Great Singer If you like her go see her live it is worth it trust me
@meilinchan7314
Trying, trying, trying......
@mooie5779
Still one of my favorites
@Jarrahnut
This woman has astonishing talent! Greetings to one and all from Big Hugh of Mundlimup in wonderful Western Australia.
@dustymiller8752
Mundlimup? Does that mean anything specific?
@ismailsaritas5020
This really amazing 🤩
@dianedureau4431
charming lyrics!
@areylaurens9714
There was an old man who lived in a wood
As you can plainly see
He said he could do as much work in a day
As his wife could do in three
With all my heart the woman she said
If that’s what you will allow
Tomorrow you’ll stay at home in my stead
And I go drive the plough
But you must milk our Tidy the cow
For fear she will go dry
You must feed the littlest pigs
That are within the sty
And you must mind the speckled hen
For fear she’ll lay away
And then you must reel the spool of yarn
That I spun yesterday
The woman she took up her staff in her hand
And she went to drive the plough
The old man took up a pale in his hand
And he went to milk the cow
But Tidy hinched and Tidy flinched
And Tidy broke his nose
And Tidy she gave to him such a big blow
The poor man took to his toes
Hi Tidy home Tidy
Tidy thou stand still
If ever I’m ill be tidy again
Be sore against my will
He went to feed the little pigs
That were within the sty
He hit his big head upon a thick beam
And he made his red blood fly
He went to find the speckledy hen
For fear she’d lay astray
Forgot to reel the spool of yarn
His wife spun yesterday
He swore by the sun, the moon, the stars
The green leaves on the tree
If his wife didn’t do a days work in her life
She won’t be ruled by he
There was an old man who lived in a wood
As you can plainly see
He said he could do as much work in a day
As his wife could do in three
With all my heart the woman she said
If that’s what you will allow
Tomorrow you’ll stay at home in my stead
And I go drive the plough
@dgoldilox
I believe its: "And Tidy she gave to him such a big blow
The blood ran to his toes".
@buckee
I wish she'd tour America.