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'.
Willie's Lady
Martin Carthy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He's wooed a wife and he's brought her home.
He wooed her for her long golden hair,
His mother wrought her a mighty care.
A weary spell she's laid on her:
She'd be with child for long and many's the year
And in her bower she lies in pain.
King Willie at her bedhead he do stand
As down his cheeks salten tears do run.
King Willie back to his mother he did run,
He's gone there as a begging son.
Says, "Me true love has this fine noble steed
The like of which you ne'er did see.
At every part of this horse's mane
There's hanging fifty silver bells and ten
There's hanging fifty bells and ten.
This goodly gift shall be your own
If back to my own true love you'll turn again
That she might bear her baby son."
"Oh, the child she'll never lighter be
Nor from sickness will she e'er be free.
But she will die and she will turn to clay
And you will wed with another maid."
Then sighing said this weary man
As back to his own true love he's gone again,
"I wish my life was at an end."
King Willie back to his mother he did run,
He's gone there as a begging son.
Says, "me true love has this fine golden girdle
Set with jewels all about the middle
At every part of this girdle's hem
There's hanging fifty silver bells and ten
There's hanging fifty bells and ten.
This goodly gift shall be your own
If back to my own true love you'll turn again
That she might bear her baby son."
"Oh, of her child she'll never lighter be
Nor from sickness will she e'er be free.
But she will die and she will turn to clay
And you will wed with another maid."
Sighing says this weary man
As back to his own true love he's gone again,
"I wish my life was at an end."
Then up and spoke his noble queen
And she has told King Willie of a plan
How she might bear her baby son.
She says, "You must go get you down to the market place
And you must buy you a loaf of wax.
And you must shape it as a babe that is to nurse
And you must make two eyes of glass.
Ask your mother to a christening day,
And you must stand there close as you can be
That you might hear what she do say"
King Willie he's gone down to the market place
And he has bought him a loaf of wax.
And he has shaped it as a babe that is to nurse
And he has made two eyes of glass.
He asked his mother to a christening day
And he has stood there close as he could be
That he might hear what she did say.
How she spoke and how she swore,
She spied the babe where no babe could be before,
She spied the babe where none could be before.
Says, "Who was it who undid the nine witch knots
Braided in amongst this lady's locks?
And who was it who took out the combs of care
Braided in amongst this lady's hair?
And who was it slew the master kid
That ran and slept all beneath this lady's bed
That ran and slept all beneath her bed?
And who was it unlaced her left shoe
And who was it that let her lighter be
That she might bear her baby boy?"
And it was Willie who undid the nine witch knots
Braided in amongst this lady's locks.
And it was Willie who took out the combs of care
Braided in amongst this lady's hair.
And it was Willie the master kid did slay
And it was Willie who unlaced her left foot shoe
And he has let her lighter be.
And she is born of a baby son
And greater the blessings that be them upon
And greater the blessings them upon.
The Martin Carthy song Willie's Lady tells the story of King Willie who has brought home his new bride. However, she has been cursed by his mother to never bear a child. Despite this, King Willie is determined to find a way to lift the curse and have a child with his true love. He goes to his mother and offers her gifts, a fine horse with silver bells and a golden girdle set with jewels, if she will lift the curse. But she tells him that his wife will never bear a child and that he will eventually wed another woman after her death.
King Willie is heartbroken and wishes that his life was at an end. But his queen steps in with a plan. He must make a wax baby and take it to his mother's christening ceremony. He must stand near her and listen to what she says. When she questions who lifted the nine witch knots braided in the queen's hair or who unlaced her shoe to help her give birth, it is revealed that it was in fact Willie who did all these things. The curse is lifted, and the queen bears a son.
The song is filled with imagery and metaphors that suggest the theme of the power dynamic between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The mother-in-law holds the power to curse the bride by denying her fertility, and in doing so, restricts the potential to continue the bloodline. King Willie goes through great lengths to convince his mother to lift the curse and change the fate of his marriage. The ultimate power over the curse is resolved when the male protagonist schemes to lift it by creating a wax baby and being present during the christening ceremony. The fact that this is the way that the curse is lifted shows how the power dynamic of the household and fate is held by the males.
Line by Line Meaning
King Willie he's sailed over the raging foam,
He's wooed a wife and he's brought her home.
King Willie has traveled over the rough sea to court and marry his wife.
He wooed her for her long golden hair,
His mother wrought her a mighty care.
King Willie was attracted to his wife's long golden hair but his mother put a curse on her.
A weary spell she's laid on her:
She'd be with child for long and many's the year
But a child she would never bear.
The curse his mother put on King Willie's wife is that she will be unable to bear a child for a long time.
And in her bower she lies in pain.
King Willie at her bedhead he do stand
As down his cheeks salten tears do run.
King Willie's wife is in pain and he is crying while standing by her bedside.
Says, "Me true love has this fine noble steed
The like of which you ne'er did see.
At every part of this horse's mane
There's hanging fifty silver bells and ten
There's hanging fifty bells and ten.
This goodly gift shall be your own
If back to my own true love you'll turn again
That she might bear her baby son."
King Willie tries to convince his mother to lift the curse on his wife by offering her a gift of a fine noble steed with bells on its mane in exchange for her help to make his wife bear a child.
"Oh, the child she'll never lighter be
Nor from sickness will she e'er be free.
But she will die and she will turn to clay
And you will wed with another maid."
King Willie's mother refuses to help and says that even if his wife has a child, she will die and he will marry another.
Then sighing said this weary man
As back to his own true love he's gone again,
"I wish my life was at an end."
King Willie is distressed and wishes his life was over.
Says, "me true love has this fine golden girdle
Set with jewels all about the middle
At every part of this girdle's hem
There's hanging fifty silver bells and ten
There's hanging fifty bells and ten.
This goodly gift shall be your own
If back to my own true love you'll turn again
That she might bear her baby son."
King Willie tries again to convince his mother to lift the curse, this time offering her a golden girdle with bells on it.
Then up and spoke his noble queen
And she has told King Willie of a plan
How she might bear her baby son.
King Willie's queen comes up with a plan to have a child despite the curse.
She says, "You must go get you down to the market place
And you must buy you a loaf of wax.
And you must shape it as a babe that is to nurse
And you must make two eyes of glass.
Ask your mother to a christening day,
And you must stand there close as you can be
That you might hear what she do say"
The queen's plan involves creating a fake baby out of wax and attending a christening with King Willie to trick his mother into believing she lifted the curse.
King Willie he's gone down to the market place
And he has bought him a loaf of wax.
And he has shaped it as a babe that is to nurse
And he has made two eyes of glass.
He asked his mother to a christening day
And he has stood there close as he could be
That he might hear what she did say.
King Willie follows the queen's plan and creates the fake baby, attends a christening with his mother, and listens in on her conversation.
How she spoke and how she swore,
She spied the babe where no babe could be before,
She spied the babe where none could be before.
Says, "Who was it who undid the nine witch knots
Braided in amongst this lady's locks?
And who was it who took out the combs of care
Braided in amongst this lady's hair?
And who was it slew the master kid
That ran and slept all beneath this lady's bed
That ran and slept all beneath her bed?
And who was it unlaced her left shoe
And who was it that let her lighter be
That she might bear her baby boy?"
King Willie's mother wonders how the curse was lifted and asks who undid all the witch's knots, removed the combs of care, killed the master kid, and unlaced the queen's shoe to allow her to have a baby.
And it was Willie who undid the nine witch knots
Braided in amongst this lady's locks.
And it was Willie who took out the combs of care
Braided in amongst this lady's hair.
And it was Willie the master kid did slay
And it was Willie who unlaced her left foot shoe
And he has let her lighter be.
It was King Willie who lifted the curse by undoing the knots, removing the combs, killing the kid, and unlacing the queen's shoe.
And she is born of a baby son
And greater the blessings that be them upon
And greater the blessings them upon.
The queen gives birth to a baby boy, and it is a great blessing upon them.
Contributed by Caroline A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
bertaga41
Listening to this again as it sends shivers down my spine! What a combination! A story to chill your bones in the best tradition and an artist at the peak of his powers. Makes me feel alive!
dfreeman120
100%
viking1au
A great song & story, related by perhaps the greatest story teller of all. Brilliant.
karl milton
Frozen in time for future generations from those of us who heard and saw his genius.
Tomorrow We Live
That guitar. My god.
bertaga41
utterly superb!
Jeremy Smith
One of his best, and thus one of the best of all.
conor3000
A breathtaking story!
chela
wonderful version wonderful song
DIEJENIGENWELCHEN
that subtle Moog drone in the ending ... Tony Cox was amazing!
sounds as if it was fed through a Leslie speaker