Kerr came to prominence in the early 1990s via a musical partnership with fellow fiddle player Eliza Carthy. The duo produced two albums – Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr (1993)[5] and Shape of Scrape (1995)[6] – before ceasing to work together. A retrospective collection of their work (plus three previously unreleased tracks) – On Reflection – was released in 2002[7].[6]
Kerr and her mother released an album together – Neat and Complete – in 1996.[8]
Since 1995 Kerr has mostly worked in a duo with Australian bouzouki player and singer James Fagan,[9] whom she married in 2007. The duo won the Horizon Award at the inaugural BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2000, and Best Duo at the same awards in both 2003 and 2011[10] Between 1997 and 2008 they released six albums on the Fellside label – "Starry Gazy Pie" (1997), "Scalene" (with Sandra Kerr) (1998), "Steely Water" (1999), "Between The Dark and Light" (2002), "Strands of Gold" (2006) and "Station House" (with Robert Harbron) (2008).[11] 2010 saw the production their first completely original collection of songs – "Twice Reflected Sun", released 9 August 2010 on Navigator Records (NAV0041). First track of the album, Queen of Waters, was nominated for the Best Original Song category at the BBC Folk Awards in 2011.
In 2008 the duo joined forces with concertina player Robert Harbron to form the trio Kerr Fagan Harbron, recording and touring the album Station House (Fellside CD 211).
Kerr has also worked with folk/pop group Epona, Australian folk family band The Fagans and the Tim van Eyken band, amongst others.
In 2010 she joined James Fagan, Richard Arrowsmith and Jess Arrowsmith to form "Melrose Quartet" in her new home city of Sheffield. They released a live EP in 2011 called "Live at Cheltenham" and a studio album "Fifty Verses" in 2013.
2013 saw Kerr make up part of Fay Hield's "The Full English" band to promote the on-line publication of the folk collections of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in Cecil Sharp House. The collective won "Best Group" at the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and their CD "The Full English" won "Best Album" at the same ceremony.
In 2014 Kerr was one of the key songwriters in "The Elizabethan Session", a concert, CD and film[12] commissioned by Folk By The Oak and The English Folk Dance and Song Society creating new music about the Elizabethan era.
2014 saw Kerr release her first CD of original songs under her own name. Sweet Visitor was released on her own label Little Dish Records on 21 July 2014. A UK tour with "The Sweet Visitor Band" (James Fagan, Rowan Rheingans, Tom Wright and Tim Yates) started on 18 November 2014. James Fagan now shares his role in the band with Greg Russell.
Nancy Kerr won "Folk Singer of the Year" at the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
2015 saw the launch of "Simpson Cutting Kerr", a trio with Kerr, Martin Simpson and Andy Cutting. Their debut CD "Murmurs" was released on Topic Records on 8 June 2015.
In November 2015, Kerr was one of four songwriters commissioned by Folk By The Oak and The English Folk Dance and Song Society to write and tour a production called "Sweet Liberties" looking at the history of British parliament and democracy. Their CD "Sweet Liberties" was released in 2016.[13]
2016 saw the production of Kerr's second album of original songs with The Sweet Visitor Band on Little Dish Records. The album, entitled "Instar", was produced by Tom Wright and was released on 16 September 2016.
My Little Drummer
Nancy Kerr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
City rain was falling
Seagulls were calling
Cold, didn't heed it
Gold, I didn't need it
Came home with a baby
Called him little Jamie
Wouldn't stop his crying
Pitter patter raining
Neighbors complaining
Milk wouldn't fill him
Silks I couldn't give him
Just a song to jig him
Just a little rhythm
Soon the night was ringing
Mockingbirds were singing
Looking glasses breaking
Neighbors Awakening
Bull carts are pulling Billy goats unwilling
Mockingbirds lamenting
Diamonds are glinting
Little dogs called Rover
Horses falling over
Never ever stopping
Such a love of shopping
Whose beats are merry
Sweeter than the Cherry
Sharper than the Apple
Always a devil
Wings of the morning beating like a starling
Wakes us all a'yawning
Little drummer darling
I went a'walking on a winter's morning
Came home with the summer
My little drummer
The opening lines of 'My Little Drummer' by Nancy Kerr set the mood for a beautiful story of a mother's love for her child. The song is about a woman's journey through motherhood, starting with the birth of her child, Jamie. The first verse describes a city morning where the rain is falling, and seagulls are calling. Despite the cold, the woman goes out and comes home with a beautiful baby boy, whom she names Jamie. The second verse portrays the mother's struggle to soothe her baby boy, who is crying all night long. The pitter-patter of rain, the neighbors complaining, and the mockingbirds singing only add to the chaos.
Despite all the hardships, the mother finds solace in music. She sings a song to jig him and creates a little rhythm to make him stop crying. As the night progresses, the mockingbirds are lamenting, and the neighbors are awakening. The little drummer's beat is still playing in the mother's heart. The last verse of the song reflects the joys of motherhood, and the journey that started on a winter morning now ends in the summer. It is a story of love and nurturing, of never giving up on a child, and of finding comfort in the little things in life.
Line by Line Meaning
I went for a walk on a cold, wet winter morning
It was raining heavily in the city, and I could hear seagulls calling
I was cold, but I didn't let it bother me
I didn't care about money, I didn't need anything
When I got back home, I found a baby
I named him Jamie
Over time, night fell and the moon rose
But the baby wouldn't stop crying
The rain continued to patter, and the neighbors were annoyed
No matter how much milk I gave him, he was never satisfied
I couldn't afford fancy things like silk, so I had to sing to soothe him
As the night went on, the mockingbirds outside began to sing and wake everyone up
Things around the house started breaking, and more neighbors were starting to get annoyed
Work animals like bull carts and billy goats weren't cooperating, adding to the noise outside
The dogs were barking, and horses were even falling over
But through it all, my little drummer boy kept beating his rhythm
His beats were merry and sweet, and sharper than any sound in nature
He was always making noise, but it was like the wings of a bird - beautiful and uplifting
He woke us all up with his music, and he became my little drummer, my summer sunshine
Contributed by Maria D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Tom Walker
on Jerilderie
Cool song.