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'.
King Knapperty
Martin Carthy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Over hills and mountains high
And he has met with an old old man
His father-in-law to be to be
His father-in-law to be
Good day good day cries King Knapperty
Good day good day cries he
If you think that she love me love me
If you think that she love me
So this old man's gone back to his house
And he's peeped into the door
And there he spied his own dear daughter
A-grovelling amongst the coal the coal
A-grovelling amongst the coal
Every nail all on her hand
It was like to an iron rake
And between her nostrils and her mouth
It was inches thick with dirt with dirt
It was inches thick with dirt
Get up get up you dirty slut
Go and wash your foul face clean
For your true love'll be here this night
And your body must be seen be seen
And your body must be seen
She scampered out she scampered in
She scampered up and down
And the bits and bobs that hung from her tail
Would have mucked an acre of land of land
Would have mucked an acre of land
So they scraped her and they scrubbed her
With the side of a rusty pan
Till King Knapperty himself come in
Such a clever and a tall young man young man
Such a clever and a tall young man
His teeth they were like tethering stakes
His nose was three foot long
He's put his hand all in his coat
And he pulled out a gay gold ring gold ring
He pulled out a gay gold ring
He's taken her all in his arms
And he's kissed her cheek and chin
And between his eyes was a yard and a half
And between his shoulders a span a span
And between his shoulders a span
She's thanked him once she's thanked him twice
She's thanked him over again
And each of the eyes in her true love's head
Was like to a rotting plum a plum
It was like to a rotting plum
And how they kissed and how they hugged
And how they kissed their fill
And the slaver that hung between their mouths
Would have tethered a two-year-old bull it would
Have tethered a two-year-old bull
King Knapperty is a traditional folk song that tells the story of a man who wishes to woo his future father-in-law in order to marry the daughter of the old man. Knapperty encounters him on his journey to propose to the woman and asks for his approval, stating that if he thinks his daughter loves him, he will be back to marry her. The old man returns to his house where he finds his daughter crawling in the dirt and squalor of the coal-hole. He tells her to clean herself up as her betrothed will be visiting her that night. She rushes to clean herself up, and when King Knapperty arrives, he finds her to be incredibly beautiful. They hug and kiss, and the song ends with a vivid and graphic description of their intimacy. The lyrics of the song are reminiscent of traditional British ballads, portraying themes of love and class divide.
The song's lyrics showcase a story of a man's quest to marry his love and his willingness to endure the trials involved in winning the approval of his prospective father-in-law. The narrative has striking elements of traditional folk storytelling, including the use of exaggeration and vivid imagery. The song's final verse is particularly striking, the kiss between the two lovers is described in repulsive terms, intended to be humorous and tongue-in-cheek.
Line by Line Meaning
King Knapperty's to the wooing gone
King Knapperty has gone to woo his lover
Over hills and mountains high
He travelled through high hills and mountains
And he has met with an old old man
He encountered an elderly man
His father-in-law to be to be
The man is the father of his to-be wife
Good day good day cries King Knapperty
King Knapperty greets the old man politely
Good day good day cries he
The old man returns the greeting
I come your daughter's love to win
King Knapperty expresses his desire to marry the old man's daughter
If you think that she love me love me
He asks the old man to consider his proposal if his daughter loves him
So this old man's gone back to his house
The old man left and went back to his house
And he's peeped into the door
He sneaked a peek into his daughter’s room
And there he spied his own dear daughter
He saw his daughter
A-grovelling amongst the coal the coal
She was rolling and crawling in the coal
Every nail all on her hand
Her fingers were dirty and filled with coal
It was like to an iron rake
Her hands were as rough as an iron rake
And between her nostrils and her mouth
There was dirt of inches thickness that settled between her nostrils and mouth
It was inches thick with dirt with dirt
The dirt settling between her mouth and nostrils was several inches thick
Get up get up you dirty slut
The father commands his daughter to get up and clean herself
Go and wash your foul face clean
He instructs his daughter to wash her face properly
For your true love'll be here this night
King Knapperty is coming to meet her tonight
And your body must be seen be seen
She must look presentable when King Knapperty arrives
She scampered out she scampered in
She hastily goes out and returns for cleaning
She scampered up and down
She goes up and down, cleaning herself
And the bits and bobs that hung from her tail
There were bits and pieces of coal hanging from her backside
Would have mucked an acre of land of land
The dirt and coal (bits and pieces) were enough to spoil an entire acre of land
So they scraped her and they scrubbed her
They cleaned her thoroughly
With the side of a rusty pan
They used a rusty pan to scrub the dirt and coal off her
Till King Knapperty himself come in
They cleaned her until King Knapperty arrived
Such a clever and a tall young man young man
King Knapperty is a clever and tall young man
His teeth they were like tethering stakes
King Knapperty had strong and sturdy teeth
His nose was three foot long
King Knapperty had a long nose measuring three feet
He's put his hand all in his coat
He put his hand into his coat pocket
And he pulled out a gay gold ring gold ring
He revealed a beautiful golden ring
He's taken her all in his arms
King Knapperty picked her up in his arms
And he's kissed her cheek and chin
He kissed her on her cheeks and chin
And between his eyes was a yard and a half
There was a significant distance between King Knapperty's eyes
And between his shoulders a span a span
There was a significant distance between King Knapperty's shoulders
She's thanked him once she's thanked him twice
She thanked him several times
She's thanked him over again
She thanked him repeatedly
And each of the eyes in her true love's head
King Knapperty's eyes were unattractive
Was like to a rotting plum a plum
His eyes resembled the decaying pulp of a plum fruit
And how they kissed and how they hugged
They kissed and hugged passionately
And how they kissed their fill
They kissed as much as they wanted
And the slaver that hung between their mouths
The saliva that flowed between their mouths
Would have tethered a two-year-old bull it would
The amount of saliva was huge enough to tether a two-year-old bull
Contributed by Maria P. 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....