In her teens Prior moved to St Albans, where she befriended the young Donovan Leitch and Mac MacLeod. She later formed a duo with MacLeod called Mac & Maddy. She became a roadie for visiting American musicians, including Reverend Gary Davis.
In 1966 she began performing with Tim Hart, another St Albans resident, and together they recorded two albums before becoming founding members of Steeleye Span in 1969. They were the backbone of the group until the early 1980s when ill-health forced Tim into semi-retirement (Tim died at Christmas 2009). Prior left Steeleye Span in 1997 but returned in 2002.
Prior has enjoyed a long solo career, as well as working with other artists and groups, including Mac & Maddy, Tim Hart & Maddy Prior, and Maddy Prior & the Carnival Band. Her most famous - and lighthearted - team-up was with June Tabor in the Silly sisters.
Since 2003, Prior has run and hosted an Arts Centre called Stones Barn in Cumbria.
http://www.maddyprior.co.uk/
I Told You So
Maddy Prior Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That moonlighting was the thing
Eloping in a ten year old van
Fixed with string
And after all the packing
Secrecy and fuss
We never got past Watford
And we had to come home by bus
My parents never even noticed
We'd been away
But don't say I didn't warn you
I told you so
You were too stubborn to listen
I said you'd come unstuck
I said you'd come unglued
You wouldn't listen to reason
A registry office marriage
I said was a mistake
Your mother laughed the whole time
And your brother cut the cake
I wanted priest and church
A proper white wedding
And a sober best man
Might not have lost the ring
Honeymoon in Norfolk
You went fishing all the time
In Majorca at least
We might have caught some sunshine
But don't say I didn't warn you
I told you so
You were too stubborn to listen
I said you'd come unstuck
I said you'd come unglued
You wouldn't listen to reason
A home of our own
You turned do-it-yourself
I told you'd better be off
To leave it to somebody else
You did the plumbing
Now the cistern's upside down
The hot water's cold
And the cold water's brown
Then there was the other thing
You even got that wrong
Here we are with seven kids
And we only wanted one
But don't say I didn't warn you
I told you so
You were too stubborn to listen
I said you'd come unstuck
I said you'd come unglued
You wouldn't listen to reason
The song "I Told You So" by Maddy Prior tells the story of a woman who warns her partner about various decisions they make throughout their relationship, only to have them not listen and end up regretting it. The lyrics describe three key events: the failed elopement, the rushed registry office marriage, and the disastrous DIY home renovation. In each situation, the woman asserts her belief that something will go wrong and urges her partner to reconsider, only to be ignored and proven right in the end.
The first verse describes the couple's attempt to elope in a ten-year-old van fixed with string. Despite the romantic notions and secrecy, they never make it past Watford and have to come home on the bus. The second verse focuses on their marriage, which the woman believes should have been a "proper white wedding" with a priest and church. Instead, they have a registry office marriage laughed at by the mother and botched up by the brother. The final verse describes the couple's home renovation, which the woman warns her partner he's not skilled enough to do himself. Despite her warnings, he attempts to do the plumbing himself and ends up leaving the cistern upside down and the water brown.
The chorus consists of the repeated phrase "I told you so," emphasizing the singer's frustration and sense of vindication. She believes her partner is too stubborn to listen to reason and will continue to make mistakes.
Overall, the song conveys a message about the importance of communication and listening in relationships. The singer believes that if her partner had listened to her and taken her warnings seriously, they could have avoided a lot of unnecessary stress and disappointment.
Line by Line Meaning
You said it would be romantic
You claimed that it would be a romantic experience
That moonlighting was the thing
You believed that the moonlight would add to the romanticism
Eloping in a ten year old van
We ran away in an old van
Fixed with string
The van was held together by string
And after all the packing
After all the preparation
Secrecy and fuss
All the effort to keep it a secret
We never got past Watford
We didn't manage to leave the city
And we had to come home by bus
We had to take the bus back home
Early to bed and off to work next day
We had to go to bed early and go to work the next day
My parents never even noticed
My parents didn't realize we had gone
We'd been away
We had run away
But don't say I didn't warn you
I had warned you before
I told you so
I had told you that things wouldn't work out
You were too stubborn to listen
You didn't want to listen to me
I said you'd come unstuck
I had told you that it wouldn't go according to plan
I said you'd come unglued
I had told you that things would fall apart
You wouldn't listen to reason
You didn't want to listen to logic or common sense
A registry office marriage
We got married at a registry office
I said was a mistake
I thought it was a bad decision
Your mother laughed the whole time
Your mother found the situation amusing
And your brother cut the cake
Your brother was involved in the ceremony
I wanted priest and church
I preferred a religious ceremony in a church
A proper white wedding
I wanted a bigger and fancier wedding
And a sober best man
I wanted a responsible best man
Might not have lost the ring
We might not have misplaced the wedding ring
Honeymoon in Norfolk
Our honeymoon was in Norfolk
You went fishing all the time
You spent most of the time fishing
In Majorca at least
If we had gone to Majorca
We might have caught some sunshine
We might have enjoyed some sunny weather
A home of our own
We had a house to ourselves
You turned do-it-yourself
You decided to do the work yourself
I told you'd better be off
I suggested that we should have hired someone else
To leave it to somebody else
To hire someone else to do it
You did the plumbing
You took care of the plumbing
Now the cistern's upside down
The cistern is installed upside down
The hot water's cold
The hot water doesn't work properly
And the cold water's brown
The cold water is discolored
Then there was the other thing
Another problem occurred
You even got that wrong
You made a mistake with that too
Here we are with seven kids
We have seven children now
And we only wanted one
We had only planned on having one child
Contributed by Oliver E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.