Tilston is the daughter of acclaimed songwriter Steve Tilston and step-daughter of singer Maggie Boyle. She began writing songs at an early age. After attending drama school, she formed Mouse with guitarist Nick Marshall. They released two albums: Helicopter Trees (2000) and Tales (2001), and played many gigs and festivals throughout the UK and Ireland. Martha's solo debut, Rolling, was self-released in 2003, followed by Bimbling in 2004. In 2005 she assembled The Woods, including members of Semble, to record Ropeswing, which was given away as a free download. 2006 saw a full UK tour and the release of Of Milkmaids And Architects, which earned her a nomination for best new act in the BBC Folk Awards.
Her album Lucy And The Wolves was released in April 2010, and she spent the remainder of that year spent playing live, including supporting Beth Nielsen Chapman on her UK dates.
Her album Machines of Love and Grace was released in 2012.
http://www.marthatilston.co.uk
Red
Martha Tilston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Red was the sky the evening before.
Red were the leaves that fell through autumn.
Red was the colour that she always wore.
She ran through the forest floor.
And all the angels
And all the angels
Red were her cheeks from the bracing wind.
Red was the hood that she pulled up around.
Red was the door on her grandmother's cottage
She knocked once, then she knocked three times more.
And all the angels
And all the angels
And all the angels came gently flocking in.
And then she saw the wolf dressed in her grandmother's clothes.
She thought that she'd heard the story before,
And she knew how the ending goes.
So she said to the wolf 'Grandma, you're looking down'
She wrapped her arms around him
And the love nearly spun him round.
The love just broke him down.
And all the angels
And all the angels
And all the angels came gently flocking round.
Red was the colour of her lips that morning.
Red was the sky the evening before.
Red were the leaves that fell through autumn.
Red was the colour that she always wore.
She ran through the forest floor.
And all the angels
And all the angels
And all the angels gently flew back up again.
The lyrics to Martha Tilston's song Red tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood with a new twist. The song opens by describing the scenery in shades of red - from the character's lips to the sky and leaves. The singer then runs through a forest, and all the angels come flocking. Later on, she arrives at her grandmother's cottage and encounters a wolf dressed in her grandmother's clothes. But instead of being afraid, she shows the wolf kindness and embraces him with love. The song ends on a bittersweet note as the angels fly away, leaving the singer behind.
One interpretation of this song is that it represents the power of love and acceptance. The singer's decision to embrace the wolf instead of fearing him symbolizes the ability of love to transcend boundaries and transform even the most unexpected situations. Additionally, the red color throughout the song could represent passion or danger, which plays off the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale's themes of temptation and vulnerability.
Line by Line Meaning
Red was the colour of her lips that morning.
The girl had applied red lipstick that morning, and it was noticeable.
Red was the sky the evening before.
The sky was red during sunset the evening before.
Red were the leaves that fell through autumn.
The leaves that fell during Autumn were mostly red in color.
Red was the colour that she always wore.
The girl always wore something red, it could be her dress or some accessory.
She ran through the forest floor.
The girl was running through a forest on the ground covered with leaves.
And all the angels
A repetitive line that emphasizes the girl's purity and the grace of the moment.
came gently flocking down.
A flock of angels came down to witness the girl's moment of purity in the forest.
Red were her cheeks from the bracing wind.
The chill wind had turned her cheeks red.
Red was the hood that she pulled up around.
The girl was wearing a red hood on her head.
Red was the door on her grandmother's cottage
The door of her grandmother's cottage was also red.
She knocked once, then she knocked three times more.
The girl knocked on the door of her grandmother's cottage four times in total.
And then she saw the wolf dressed in her grandmother's clothes.
The girl saw a wolf dressed like her grandmother.
She thought that she'd heard the story before,
The girl had heard a similar story from her grandmother before.
And she knew how the ending goes.
The girl knew the ending of the story where the wolf disguised as the grandmother eats her.
So she said to the wolf 'Grandma, you're looking down'.
The girl addressed the wolf as her grandmother, without suspecting anything.
She wrapped her arms around him
The girl hugged the wolf believing that it was her grandmother.
And the love nearly spun him round.
The girl's innocent love overwhelmed the wolf, and he was almost moved.
The love just broke him down.
The wolf was moved to the extent that he broke down completely.
And all the angels
Repetitive line that emphasizes the girl's pure love and the striking moment it created.
came gently flocking round.
A flock of angels came down to embrace the moment of pure love created in the forest.
Red was the colour of her lips that morning.
Repetition of the 1st line to create a soothing effect on the listener/readers.
Red was the sky the evening before.
Repetition of the 2nd line which still holds the same context as before.
Red were the leaves that fell through autumn.
Repetition of the 3rd line which still holds the same context as before.
Red was the colour that she always wore.
Repetition of the 4th line for continuity in the structure of the song.
She ran through the forest floor.
Repetition of the 5th line to create a soothing effect on the listener/readers.
And all the angels
Repetition of the 6th line to create a soothing effect on the listener/readers.
And all the angels
Repetition of the 6th line to create a soothing effect on the listener/readers.
And all the angels gently flew back up again.
The angels flew back up, signifying that the moment of pure love has come to an end.
Contributed by Lila Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Luna Shadow
So happy I found this, I have not listened to the music in forever and I really missed it....just as it was when I first saw this it sounds very lovely and her voice is glorious
kotare11
Namastara Deva💖🙏🌈 Mahalo Martha🌟