He was born in Hatfield and grew up in Hampstead, London. After training as an actor he sang in coffee bars. He became a resident at the Troubador folk club in Earls Court in the late 1950s. He joined Redd Sullivan's Thameside Four in 1961. He is a renowned solo performer of traditional songs in a very distinctive style, accompanying himself on his trusty old Martin Guitar; his style is marked by the use of alternate tunings, and a strongly percussive picking style that emphasizes the melody. His debut album, Martin Carthy, was released in 1965, and also featured Dave Swarbrick playing fiddle on some tracks, although he was not mentioned in the album's sleeve notes.
He has also been involved with many musical collaborations. He has sung with The Watersons since 1972, was an early member of the UK folk rock group Steeleye Span, and was part of the innovative Brass Monkey ensemble, which mixed a range of brass instruments with Carthy's guitar and mandolin and John Kirkpatrick's accordion, melodeon and concertina.
For many years Carthy has enjoyed a creative partnership with fiddle player Dave Swarbrick. More recently, Waterson:Carthy has provided the forum for a successful partnership with partner Norma Waterson together with their daughter Eliza Carthy.
In June 1998 he was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. He was named Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2002, and again in 2005 when he also won the award for Best Traditional Track for 'Famous Flower of Serving Men'.
Banks Of Green Willow
Martin Carthy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who lived down by the seaside, oh,
And he's courted with a fair maid,
And he's got her with child.
Go and get your father's goodwill,
And get some of your mother's money,
And we'll sail right o'er the ocean
Oh she's got her father's goodwill,
And she's ta'en some of her mother's money,
And she's sailed right o'er the ocean
Along with young Johnny.
Now they had not been a-sailing
But six weeks or better,
Before she needed women
And she could not get any.
Oh hold your tongue you silly girl
Oh hold your tongue my honey
For we cannot get women
For love nor for money.
Now they had not been a sailing
But seven weeks or better,
With our sails high and the sea smooth,
But miles we made not any.
Oh there's fay folk in our gallant ship,
The captain he cried so boldly,
Oh there's fay folk in our gallant ship,
She will not sail for me.
So they've cast the black bullets,
And they've cursed twice six and forty,
And it's oh the black bullet
Fell on his dearest honey.
Oh he's tied a napkin all round her head
And he's tied it round so softly,
And he's thrown her right over,
Both she and her baby.
And it's seeing how she doth swim my boys,
And it's seeing how she doth swagger,
She will never leave off swimming
Till she come to some cover.
Oh she shall have a coffin
And the nails shall shine yellow
And me love she shall be buried
On the banks of green willow.
The song "Banks of Green Willow" by Martin Carthy is a tragic tale of a sea captain and his lover who is pregnant with his child. The captain convinces her to leave her family and sail away with him, but soon they realize they don't have any women on board to help with her delivery. As they struggle to make progress at sea, the captain begins to believe that their ship is cursed with fay folk, and so they cast black bullets to ward them off. Unfortunately, one of the bullets falls on the young woman, killing her and her unborn child. In a heartbreaking scene, the captain ties a napkin around her head and tosses her overboard, hoping that she will find rest on the "banks of green willow" where he will later bury her.
The song highlights the dangers and uncertainties of living a life at sea, but also the destructive power of superstition and fear. The captain's belief that the fay folk had caused the ship to stop moving was his downfall because it led him to use a dangerous spell that ended up killing the woman he loved. The tragic story is told in a simple and poignant manner, using the repetition of certain phrases and the use of a mournful melody to convey the heartache and sorrow of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
It's of a sea captain
This tale is about a captain who went to sea
Who lived down by the seaside, oh,
He was exclusively fond of living on the coast
And he's courted with a fair maid,
He fell in love with a lovely lady
And he's got her with child.
They engaged in romance and she became pregnant
Go and get your father's goodwill,
He asked her to go and seek her father's consent
And get some of your mother's money,
He urged her to obtain some financial aid from her mother
And we'll sail right o'er the ocean
They planned to take a voyage over the sea
Along with young Johnny.
Together with a young man named Johnny
Oh she's got her father's goodwill,
She was able to get her father's approval
And she's ta'en some of her mother's money,
She collected some money from her mother
And she's sailed right o'er the ocean
They took the journey across the sea
Along with young Johnny.
In the company of Johnny, the young man
Now they had not been a-sailing
They hadn't been sailing for too long
But six weeks or better,
Just about six weeks, or maybe more
Before she needed women
Before the lady required another woman's assistance
And she could not get any.
But unfortunately, she couldn't get any help
Oh hold your tongue you silly girl
The captain advised her to keep silent
Oh hold your tongue my honey
The captain called her 'honey' and asked her to keep quiet
For we cannot get women
Because they couldn't find any women to help them
For love nor for money.
No matter what they offered, they couldn't get any help
Now they had not been a sailing
They still hadn't been sailing for too long
But seven weeks or better,
It was just around seven weeks, or maybe more
With our sails high and the sea smooth,
Despite the favorable weather with high sails and calm seas
But miles we made not any.
They hadn't made any progress despite the good conditions
Oh there's fay folk in our gallant ship,
The captain believed that there were supernatural creatures aboard the ship
The captain he cried so boldly,
The captain spoke in a courageous manner
Oh there's fay folk in our gallant ship,
The captain reiterated that he suspected there were 'fay folk' aboard
She will not sail for me.
The ship won't move for him because of the supernatural creatures
So they've cast the black bullets,
They resorted to using black bullets as a way to find out who was causing trouble aboard their ship
And they've cursed twice six and forty,
They pronounced a curse on one or more people of the ship that they believed were behind the trouble
And it's oh the black bullet
One of the black bullets that were cast
Fell on his dearest honey.
Fell on his beloved pregnant girlfriend
Oh he's tied a napkin all round her head
He wrapped a cloth all around her head
And he's tied it round so softly,
He tied it gently so as not to harm her
And he's thrown her right over,
He then threw her overboard
Both she and her baby.
The pregnant lady and the unborn baby
And it's seeing how she doth swim my boys,
The captain and crew were surprised to see the swimmer's skill
And it's seeing how she doth swagger,
They were amazed at how well she was coping despite the situation
She will never leave off swimming
They felt that the lady would swim until she found safety
Till she come to some cover.
Until she found a place of safety
Oh she shall have a coffin
The lady was presumed dead
And the nails shall shine yellow
The nails in the coffin would be yellow
And me love she shall be buried
His beloved girlfriend would be buried
On the banks of green willow.
She would be buried in a place of beauty - on the banks of the green willow trees.
Contributed by Ruby D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Daniel
on Lovely Joan
Hello ! The lyrics here art alle wrong. An' it's got tae be a frog-eater a-tellin' thee....