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.
Seven Notes
Nancy Kerr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Has beat its wings upon my strings
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Like seeds of red by cuckoos flung
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Like beads of blood upon the tongue
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Could scarce express one scrap of ground
Adieu my love, adieu my home
This gaze of lust, that frown of grace
Adieu my love, adieu my home
This singing space my ribs surround
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Adieu my love, adieu my home
The south and north of our desire
Adieu my love, adieu my home
As back and forth to Africa
Adieu my love, adieu my home
On crooked wings with summer's stealth
Adieu my love, adieu my home
The cuckoo sings of commonwealth
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Put seven notes in every breast
Adieu my love, adieu my home
In which a soul's seduction rests
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Let palettes mix in gaudy bliss
Adieu my love, adieu my home
This nuptial kiss of east and west
In you my love, in you my home
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Adieu my love, adieu my home
The lyrics of Nancy Kerr's song "Seven Notes" deal with the feeling of restlessness and the longing for new experiences that many people experience. The song's narrator is torn between the desire to stay with their loved one and the lure of the unknown. The song describes the feeling that something is missing, that there is a need for adventure and exploration.
The lyrics also touch on themes of cultural differences and the blending of different cultures. The lines "Let palettes mix in gaudy bliss/This nuptial kiss of east and west" speak to the idea that different cultures can come together in harmony and create something new and beautiful. The repetition of "Adieu my love, adieu my home" throughout the song emphasizes the singer's sense of leaving behind what is familiar and comfortable in search of something new.
Overall, the lyrics of "Seven Notes" are about the human desire to wander, explore, and experience new things. It is about the conflict between the comfort of what we know and the longing for something more.
Line by Line Meaning
The need to sing of wandering
I feel compelled to sing about my nomadic lifestyle
Adieu my love, adieu my home
I am saying goodbye to my lover and my home
Has beat its wings upon my strings
My desire to sing about my travels has become intense and insistent
Like seeds of red by cuckoos flung
My songs are like the seeds that cuckoos spread, unpredictable in their spread
Like beads of blood upon the tongue
My songs are visceral and intense, like the taste of blood in the mouth
Just seven notes in every sound
There are only seven notes in music, and yet they can express so much
Could scarce express one scrap of ground
Even with all the notes available, it is difficult to convey the full essence of a place
This gaze of lust, that frown of grace
I am inspired by the emotions expressed by people's eyes and facial expressions
This singing space my ribs surround
Singing is such a part of me it feels like it is inside me, beneath my ribs
The south and north of our desire
Our desires can pull us in different directions, as represented by the compass directions of north and south
As back and forth to Africa
Like the migration patterns of birds across continents, my desires move back and forth
On crooked wings with summer's stealth
My desires are not straightforward, and can be hidden like the stealth of summer
The cuckoo sings of commonwealth
The cuckoo, like my songs, spreads its sounds across the land, connecting people to a shared experience
Put seven notes in every breast
Our hearts can contain the power of music, as represented by the seven notes
In which a soul's seduction rests
Music can be seductive and alluring, speaking to our deepest desires and emotions
Let palettes mix in gaudy bliss
Let your senses be overwhelmed by the beauty of the world around you
This nuptial kiss of east and west
The blending of cultures and traditions can be a beautiful and wondrous thing
In you my love, in you my home
I have found love and a sense of home in the person I am addressing
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Despite the joy and love I have found, I must continue to travel and sing
Adieu my love, adieu my home
And once again, I say farewell to my lover and my home
Adieu my love, adieu my home
Adieu, adieu, adieu
Contributed by Julian S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
merlini1
Beautiful and very moving during the coronavirus pandemic.
Matthew Stephens
I love this!
Mike Ince
Amazing, song for our time xxx
nealfig
Beautiful.
EcoWarrior-Mama
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