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 Wife of the Soldier
Martin Carthy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the ancient city of Prague?
From Prague she got the linen shirt
It matched her skirt did the linen shirt
That she got from the city of Prague
What did the wife of the soldier get
From Brussels the Belgian town?
Oh the charm and the grace of the delicate lace
That she got from the Belgian town
What did the wife of the soldier get
From Paris the City of Light?
From Paris she got the silken dress
Oh to possess the silken dress
That she got from the City of Light
What did the wife of the soldier get
From Libya's desert sands?
From Libya, the little charm
Around her arm she wore the charm
That she got from the desert sands
What did the wife of the soldier get
From Russia's distant steppes?
From Russia she got the widow's veil
And the end of the tale is the widow's veil
That she got from the distant steppes
The Wife of the Soldier is a song by Martin Carthy that speaks of the various mementos that a soldier's wife acquires from different parts of the world. The first stanza mentions Praha, where she gets a linen shirt that matches her skirt. The second stanza mentions Brussels where she acquires delicate lace that exudes charm and grace. The third stanza talks about Paris, the City of Light, where she secures a silken dress that she treasures. With every place she visits, she collects something precious to remind her of her adventures. The fourth stanza talks about Libya, where she gets a little charm that she wears on her arm. The last one mentions Russia, where she gets a widow's veil, which ends the song on a somber note.
Line by Line Meaning
What did the wife of the soldier get
What items did the wife of the soldier acquire?
From the ancient city of Prague?
What did she acquire from the old city of Prague?
From Prague she got the linen shirt
She obtained a linen shirt from Prague
It matched her skirt did the linen shirt
The linen shirt matched her skirt
That she got from the city of Prague.
She acquired it from the city of Prague
From Brussels the Belgian town?
What did she obtain from the Belgian town of Brussels?
From Brussels she got the delicate lace
She received delicate lace from Brussels
Oh the charm and the grace of the delicate lace
The delicate lace was charming and graceful
That she got from the Belgian town.
She got it from the Belgian town of Brussels
From Paris the City of Light?
What did she obtain from the City of Light, Paris?
From Paris she got the silken dress
She acquired a silken dress from Paris
Oh to possess the silken dress
She longed to possess the silken dress
That she got from the City of Light.
She obtained it from the City of Light, Paris
From Libya's desert sands?
What did she acquire from the desert sands of Libya?
From Libya, the little charm
She received a small charm from Libya
Around her arm she wore the charm
She wore the charm around her arm
That she got from the desert sands.
She obtained the charm from Libya's desert sands
From Russia's distant steppes?
What did she obtain from the distant steppes of Russia?
From Russia she got the widow's veil
She received a widow's veil from Russia
And the end of the tale is the widow's veil
The story ends with her acquisition of the widow's veil from Russia
That she got from the distant steppes
She obtained it from Russia's distant steppes
Contributed by Elena W. 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....