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'.
The Broomfield Hill
Martin Carthy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He courted a lady gay.
As they were riding side by side,
A wager she did lay.
"Oh I'll wager you five hundred pound,
Five hundred pound to one,
That a maid I will go to the merry greenwood,
So there she sat in her mother's bower garden,
There she made her moan,
Saying, "Should I go to the Broomfield Hill,
Or should I stay at home?"
Then up and spake this witch woman,
As she sat on a log,
Saying, "You shall go to the Broomfield Hill,
And a maid you shall come home."
"Oh when you get to the Broomfield Hill,
You'll find your love asleep.
With his hawk, his hound, and his silk and satin gown,
And his ribbons hanging down to his feet."
"And pick the blossom from off the broom,
The blossom that smells so sweet.
And lay some down at the crown of his head,
And more at the sole of his feet."
So she's away to the Broomfield Hill
And she's found her love asleep.
With his hawk, his hound, and his silk and satin gown,
And his ribbons hanging down to his feet.
And she's picked a blossom from off the broom,
The blossom that smells so sweet.
And she's laid some down at the crown of his head
And more at the sole of his feet.
And she's pulled off her diamond ring
And she's pressed it in his right hand,
For to let him know when he'd wakened from his sleep
That his love had been there at his command.
And when he woke out of his sleep,
And the birds began to sing,
Saying, "Awake, awake, awake master,
Your true love's been and gone."
"Oh where were you, me gay goshawk?
And where were you, me steed?
And where were you, me good greyhound?
Why did you not waken me?"
"Oh I clapped with my wings, master,
And bold your bells I rang,
Crying, waken, waken, waken master,
Before this lady ran."
"And I stamped with my foot, master,
And I shook me bridle till it rang.
But nothing at all would waken you
Till she had been and gone."
"So haste ye, haste ye, me good white steed,
To come where she may be.
Or all the birds of the Broomfield Hill
Shall eat their fill of thee."
"Oh you need not waste your good white steed
By racing to her home,
For no bird flies faster through the wood
Than she fled through the broom."
The song, "Broomfield Hill" by Martin Carthy tells the story of a lord who attempts to court a lady, and a wager that takes place between them. The lady makes a bet that she can leave for the greenwood and return still a maiden. These lyrics indicate that the lady is in a state of confusion regarding whether she should stay home or go to the Broomfield Hill, and a witch woman advises her to go to the hill, promising that she will return home as a maiden. When the lady reaches the hill, she finds her lover sleeping with his hawk, hound, silk and satin, and ribbons hanging down to his feet. She picks some blossoms from a broom and places them at the crown of his head and the sole of his feet. She also leaves him her diamond ring to indicate that she was present in his sleep. When her lover wakes up, he calls for his horse, hawk, and hound, but it is too late as the lady has already fled.
The lyrics can be interpreted in various ways. One possibility is that the lady wanted to remain chaste but was being forcibly wooed by the lord. She takes the bet as a chance to escape her unwelcome suitor and ultimately is successful in doing so. Alternatively, it could be interpreted as the story of a cheating lover who deceives her partner, as she places the broom blossom on his head and sole, which some interpret to be a symbol of infidelity.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh it's of a lord in the north country,
The song is about a lord who lived in the northern part of the country.
He courted a lady gay.
The lord was courting a joyful lady.
As they were riding side by side,
The lord and the lady were riding together.
A wager she did lay.
The lady made a bet with the lord.
"Oh I'll wager you five hundred pound,
She wagered five hundred pounds against the lord.
Five hundred pound to one,
The ratio of the wager was 500:1.
That a maid I will go to the merry greenwood,
The lady said she will go to the merry greenwood as a maid.
And a maid I will return."
She promised she would return from the merry greenwood the same way.
So there she sat in her mother's bower garden,
The lady sat in her mother's garden and wondered what to do.
There she made her moan,
She expressed her sorrow.
Saying, "Should I go to the Broomfield Hill,
The lady had to choose whether to go to the Broomfield Hill.
Or should I stay at home?"
She questioned whether it was better to stay at home.
Then up and spake this witch woman,
A witch woman spoke up and offered advice.
As she sat on a log,
The witch woman sat on a log while speaking.
Saying, "You shall go to the Broomfield Hill,
The witch woman told the lady to go to the Broomfield Hill.
And a maid you shall come home."
The witch woman guaranteed that the lady will come back as a maid.
"Oh when you get to the Broomfield Hill,
The witch woman gave the lady further instructions.
You'll find your love asleep.
The lady will find her love asleep at the Broomfield Hill.
With his hawk, his hound, and his silk and satin gown,
The lady's love will be dressed in fine clothing with his hawk and hound nearby.
And his ribbons hanging down to his feet."
The love's ribbons are hanging loose to his feet.
"And pick the blossom from off the broom,
The witch woman instructed the lady to pick a blossom from the broom.
The blossom that smells so sweet.
The lady should choose the sweet-smelling blossom.
And lay some down at the crown of his head,
The lady should place some of the blossom at the head of her love.
And more at the sole of his feet."
The lady should also place more of the blossom at her love's feet.
So she's away to the Broomfield Hill
The lady went straight to the Broomfield Hill to see her love.
And she's found her love asleep.
The lady found her love asleep, just as the witch woman predicted.
And she's picked a blossom from off the broom,
The lady followed the witch woman's instructions and picked a blossom from the broom.
The blossom that smells so sweet.
The lady chose the sweet-smelling blossom as instructed.
And she's laid some down at the crown of his head
She placed some blossom at the top of her love's head.
And more at the sole of his feet.
She placed more bloom at his feet.
And she's pulled off her diamond ring
The lady removed her diamond ring.
And she's pressed it in his right hand,
She put the ring in her love's right hand.
For to let him know when he'd wakened from his sleep
The ring was a sign for him to know the lady had visited.
That his love had been there at his command."
The ring symbolized the lady's love and fulfilled the promise she made to return.
And when he woke out of his sleep,
When he woke from sleep, he saw the evidence of the lady's visit.
And the birds began to sing,
The birds started singing at the break of dawn.
Saying, "Awake, awake, awake master,
The birds alerted her love that someone had visited while he slept.
Your true love's been and gone."
The birds' song revealed to the love that his lady had visited.
"Oh where were you, me gay goshawk?
The love asked his goshawk why it didn't wake him up.
And where were you, me steed?
The love also asked his horse why it didn't wake him up.
And where were you, me good greyhound?
The love asked his greyhound why it didn't wake him up.
Why did you not waken me?"
The love wondered why his pets didn't wake him up.
"Oh I clapped with my wings, master,
The goshawk replied to its master's question.
And bold your bells I rang,
The goshawk tried to wake up the love with the sound of its bells.
Crying, waken, waken, waken master,
The goshawk cried for the love to wake up.
Before this lady ran."
The goshawk's effort to wake the love up was unsuccessful because the lady had already left.
"And I stamped with my foot, master,
The love asked his greyhound why it didn't wake him up before the lady ran off.
And I shook me bridle till it rang.
The greyhound tried to wake its master with the sound of its bridle.
But nothing at all would waken you
The love was still asleep despite his pets' efforts to wake him up because he was too deep in sleep.
Till she had been and gone."
The love was unaware of the lady's visit because she had already left.
"So haste ye, haste ye, me good white steed,
The love asked his horse to hurry and chase after the lady to bring her back.
To come where she may be.
The love wanted his horse to go to wherever the lady was.
Or all the birds of the Broomfield Hill
The love threatened that his horse will be eaten by the birds at the Broomfield Hill if it doesn't hurry.
Shall eat their fill of thee."
The love told his horse that the birds will eat it if it doesn't hurry after the lady.
"Oh you need not waste your good white steed
The lady had already gone and it would be futile to try and pursue her.
By racing to her home,
The love was advised not to pursue the lady because she was too fast.
For no bird flies faster through the wood
The love said the lady runs even faster than birds that fly through woods.
Than she fled through the broom."
The love's love interest was very quick on her feet, and would have been difficult to catch.
Contributed by Joshua B. 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....