Martin Carthy (born May 21, 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist w… Read Full Bio ↴Martin Carthy (born May 21, 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days of the folk revival.

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'.

Sir Patrick Spens
Martin Carthy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh the king sits in Dunfermline town
A-drinking the blood-red wine,
Says, "Where will I get me a brave young skipper
Sail this ship of mine?"

And up and spoke an old, old man,
Who sat at the king's right knee.
He says, "Patrick Spens is the very best sailor

Who ever did sail on the sea."

So the king he has written him a long, long letter
Sealed it with his hand,
And he sent it along to Patrick Spens
Who was walking down on the sand.

And the very first line that Patrick read
So loud, so loud laughed he,
And the very next line that Patrick read
Down he fell to his knee.

"Oh, who is this, who has done this deed
Telling the king on me,
For to send us out this time of the year
To sail on the salt, salt sea?"

"To Norway, to far Norway,
To Norway over the foam.
It is the king's daughter of far Norway
And we must bring her home."

Now they set sail with all good speed
On a Monday in the morn,
And they have arrived far over the sea
On a Wednesday in the eve.

And they'd not been in far Norway
A week but barely three,
When all those lords of far Norway
Began out aloud for to say:

"Oh, you Scots foreigners spend our king's gold,
Swallow up our money."
"Oh, weary weary the tongue that lies,
See how it lies on thee."

"Make ready, ready my good men all,
The little ship sails in the morn.
Be it wind, be it wet, be it hail, be it sleet,
Be it fair or deadly storm."

But up and spoke our own weatherman,
"I fear we'll all be drowned.
For I saw the new moon late last night,
The old moon in her arm."

And they'd not sailed a league and a league,
A league but barely three
When through and through the little ship's side
[They?] spied the green-walled sea.

"Oh, where will I get me a brave young boy,
Take my helm in hand,
While I climb up to the tall topmast,
See can I spy land."

And he'd not gone a step and a step,
A step but barely one,
When the whirling winds and the ugly jaws
Came a-driving to their shin.

"Oh, fetch me a web of the silken cloth,
Another web of the twine,
And lay them around our little ship's side
Let not the sea come in."

And they got a web of the silken cloth,
Another web of the twine,
And they laid them around the little ship's side,
Still the sea come in.

Oh, the anchor snapped, the topmast cracked,
It was a deadly storm.
And the whirling winds and the ugly jaws
Came a-driving to their chin.

And there came a gale from the north-north-east,
So loud, so loud it weep,
It cried, "Patrick Spens and all of his men
Are drowning in the deep."

And loath, loath were the good Scots lords
To wet their shining shoen,
But long and ere this day was done
Their hats were soaking through.

And many were the fine feather bed
Flattering over the foam,
And many were the good lords' sons
Never, never more come home.

And long, long will the ladies sit,
Their gold combs in their hand,
Before they see Sir Patrick Spens
Come a-sailing to dry land.

Oh, it's east by north from Aberdour,
It's fifty fathom deep.

And it's there it lies Patrick Spens,
The Scots lords at his feet.

Overall Meaning

The ballad Sir Patrick Spens tells the story of a Scottish sailor who is requested by the king to sail to Norway to bring the king's daughter home. The king chooses Sir Patrick Spens as he is considered the best sailor in Scotland. When Spens reads the letter from the king, he realizes the danger of the journey during the winter and questions why the king would want them to sail on the salt sea at this time of the year. His fears are soon realized as they face a deadly storm resulting in the death of all on board.

The lyrics capture the tragedy of the event, depicting the bravery of the sailors as they attempt to save their ship despite their inevitable fate. The imagery of the storm and the sea adds to the intensity of the ballad, with the vivid description of the sailors' final moments heightening the emotions in the listener.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh the king sits in Dunfermline town A-drinking the blood-red wine, Says, "Where will I get me a brave young skipper Sail this ship of mine?"
The king is in Dunfermline town, drinking wine and wondering who the best sailor to helm his ship is.

And up and spoke an old, old man, Who sat at the king's right knee. He says, "Patrick Spens is the very best sailor Who ever did sail on the sea."
An old man at the king's right knee suggests Patrick Spens as the best sailor the king could choose.

So the king he has written him a long, long letter Sealed it with his hand, And he sent it along to Patrick Spens Who was walking down on the sand.
The king sends Patrick Spens a letter, sealed by his own hand, while Patrick Spens is walking on the beach.

And the very first line that Patrick read So loud, so loud laughed he, And the very next line that Patrick read Down he fell to his knee.
Patrick laughs out loud at the first line of the letter, but falls to his knees when he reads the next line.

"Oh, who is this, who has done this deed Telling the king on me, For to send us out this time of the year To sail on the salt, salt sea?"
Patrick questions who told the king to send them out to sea during this time of the year and is concerned about the salty sea.

"To Norway, to far Norway, To Norway over the foam. It is the king's daughter of far Norway And we must bring her home."
The mission is to bring the King's daughter, who is in Norway, back home to Scotland.

Now they set sail with all good speed On a Monday in the morn, And they have arrived far over the sea On a Wednesday in the eve.
They set sail on a Monday and arrive in Norway on Wednesday evening.

And they'd not been in far Norway A week but barely three, When all those lords of far Norway Began out aloud for to say:
Within three weeks of arriving, the lords of Norway start to complain about the Scots foreigners.

"Oh, you Scots foreigners spend our king's gold, Swallow up our money." "Oh, weary weary the tongue that lies, See how it lies on thee."
The Lords of Norway complain about Scots spending their money, and someone calls their complaints lies.

"Make ready, ready my good men all, The little ship sails in the morn. Be it wind, be it wet, be it hail, be it sleet, Be it fair or deadly storm."
They prepare for the journey home, come wind, hail or deadly storm.

But up and spoke our own weatherman, "I fear we'll all be drowned. For I saw the new moon late last night, The old moon in her arm."
The weatherman predicts danger because he's seen the new moon with the old moon in its arms, which is an unlucky sign.

And they'd not sailed a league and a league, A league but barely three When through and through the little ship's side [They?] spied the green-walled sea.
Almost immediately after setting sail, they see the green-walled sea through a hole in the ship's side.

"Oh, where will I get me a brave young boy, Take my helm in hand, While I climb up to the tall topmast, See can I spy land."
Patrick Spens looks for a brave boy to take the helm while he climbs the topmast to look for land.

And he'd not gone a step and a step, A step but barely one, When the whirling winds and the ugly jaws Came a-driving to their shin.
Almost immediately after climbing the topmast, Patrick Spens is hit by strong winds that hurt their shins.

"Oh, fetch me a web of the silken cloth, Another web of the twine, And lay them around our little ship's side Let not the sea come in."
They try to block the hole by using silk cloth and twine around the ship's side.

And they got a web of the silken cloth, Another web of the twine, And they laid them around the little ship's side, Still the sea come in.
But even with the twine and silk cloth, the water still comes in and floods the ship.

Oh, the anchor snapped, the topmast cracked, It was a deadly storm. And the whirling winds and the ugly jaws Came a-driving to their chin.
The storm got even worse, with the anchor and topmast breaking, and the winds still hurting them.

And there came a gale from the north-north-east, So loud, so loud it weep, It cried, "Patrick Spens and all of his men Are drowning in the deep."
A gale comes from the north-north-east and drowns Patrick Spens and his crew.

And loath, loath were the good Scots lords To wet their shining shoen, But long and ere this day was done Their hats were soaking through.
The Scots lords did not want to get their shoes wet, but by the end of the day, their hats were soaking wet as well.

And many were the fine feather bed Flattering over the foam, And many were the good lords' sons Never, never more come home.
Many fine featherbeds, along with the good lords' sons, were lost at sea and never returned.

And long, long will the ladies sit, Their gold combs in their hand, Before they see Sir Patrick Spens Come a-sailing to dry land.
The ladies will sit a long time before they see Sir Patrick Spens return to dry land.

Oh, it's east by north from Aberdour, It's fifty fathom deep. And it's there it lies Patrick Spens, The Scots lords at his feet.
The location of the shipwreck is east by north from Aberdour and fifty fathoms deep, where Sir Patrick Spens and the Scots lords rest.

Contributed by Caroline T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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