Kerr came to prominence in the early 1990s via a musical partnership with fellow fiddle player Eliza Carthy. The duo produced two albums β Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr (1993)[5] and Shape of Scrape (1995)[6] β before ceasing to work together. A retrospective collection of their work (plus three previously unreleased tracks) β On Reflection β was released in 2002[7].[6]
Kerr and her mother released an album together β Neat and Complete β 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 β "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 β "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.
The Priest's Garden
Nancy Kerr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the seeds of our shadows are sown, sown
I went walking all in the priest's garden
And I met a sweet child all alone
I met a sweet child all alone
The hard rain it blew all around him
Till the black earth it was riven with cares, with cares
Oh, the ravens have stolen my prayers, he said
Oh the ravens have stolen my prayers
I was sailing my own little rowboat
With my cross and my Bible and beads, and beads
It was built by my father and mother
And the name of that boat it was creed, creed
The name of that boat it was creed
Well a stream it flowed out of the village
Where the willows they weep by the ford, ford
And that stream it grew into a river
And the name of that river was Lord, Lord
The name of that river was Lord
And that river flowed into the valley
And the valley flowed into a cave, a cave
At the heart of that cave was an altar
And the name on the altar was saved, saved
The name on the altar was saved
But the raven is wary and wily
For he covets our shadows and shame, shame
And he's wearing the robes of the Holy
He will dare you to mention his name, name
He'll dare you to mention his name
Dark roses they bloom in his garden
And their roots they are fed upon fears, fears
Though he preaches of penance and pardon
All the petals are covered with tears, tears
The petals are covered with tears
I will pull down down those brambles and briars
Where they grow from below and above, above
I will build a gate out of this garden
And the name on that gate shall be love, love
The name on that gate shall be love
The lyrics of Nancy Kerr's song The Priest's Garden are steeped in symbolism and religious allegory. The song describes a walk in the heart of a holy city where the shadow of the past still lingers. The singer encounters a sweet child who laments the ravens have stolen his prayers. The symbolism of ravens in Christianity is negative, as they represent sin and evil, while the prayers are symbolic of faith and hope. The hard rain represents the hardships of life, and the bending and breaking of roses symbolize the fragility of faith.
The singer shares that she is sailing in her own little rowboat with her cross, Bible, and beads. Her boat is named 'creed,' and she is navigating the river named 'Lord.' This reference is symbolic of her journey of faith, and the struggles she has encountered. The deeper she goes, the darker it becomes, and she finds herself in a cave where the altar is named 'saved.' The cave can represent the darkness in life, and the altar represents the saving grace of faith.
However, the priest's garden is not what it seems. The dark roses are symbolic of fear and anxiety, and even though he preaches of penance and pardon, the petals are covered in tears. The raven, who wears the robes of the Holy, is symbolic of hypocrisy, manipulation, and deception. The singer vows to destroy the briars and brambles, and build a gate from the garden with the name 'Love.'
Overall, the lyrics of The Priest's Garden is a representation of the struggle between faith and doubt, good and evil, and the need for redemption.
Line by Line Meaning
In the heart of the holy city
In a pious place far from the reach of sin
Where the seeds of our shadows are sown, sown
Where the foundation of our darkest secrets are planted
I went walking all in the priest's garden
I took a walk in the garden of the clergyman
And I met a sweet child all alone
And there I saw a lonely, innocent young boy
The hard rain it blew all around him
Cold, heavy rain battered him on all sides
Till the black earth it was riven with cares, with cares
Until the soil became divided and troubled
All the roses were bending and breaking
The flowers were wilting and snapping under the harsh weather
Oh, the ravens have stolen my prayers, he said
The boy lamented that his supplications were taken away by the birds
I was sailing my own little rowboat
I was travelling in my small, simple boat
With my cross and my Bible and beads, and beads
I had with me religious symbols and prayer beads
It was built by my father and mother
The boat was crafted by my parents
And the name of that boat it was creed, creed
The vessel was called 'creed'
Well a stream it flowed out of the village
A small water course emanated from the town
Where the willows they weep by the ford, ford
Where the trees have a sad disposition by the crossing
And that stream it grew into a river
And that rivulet developed into a mighty waterway
And the name of that river was Lord, Lord
And it was reverently called 'Lord'
And that river flowed into the valley
This river then flowed into the valley
And the valley flowed into a cave, a cave
The valley further flowed in a cavern
At the heart of that cave was an altar
An altar stood in the middle of this grotto
And the name on the altar was saved, saved
The words on the altar proclaimed 'saved'
But the raven is wary and wily
However, the bird is cautious and clever
For he covets our shadows and shame, shame
Its desire is to obtain our secrets and sins
And he's wearing the robes of the Holy
It disguises itself as a member of the Church
He will dare you to mention his name, name
It may challenge one to speak his real name
Dark roses they bloom in his garden
In its garden, thorny flowers of gloom flourish
And their roots they are fed upon fears, fears
Their roots are nourished with anxieties and dreads
Though he preaches of penance and pardon
Although the bird speaks of atonement and forgiveness
All the petals are covered with tears, tears
The petals are covered with drops of tears
I will pull down down those brambles and briars
I will dismantle those thorns and obstacles
Where they grow from below and above, above
Where they grow from above and beneath
I will build a gate out of this garden
I will construct an exit with the resources at hand
And the name on that gate shall be love, love
I will name this gate 'love'
Contributed by Josiah J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jeremy Clapham
Absolutely beautiful.
Poetry_is_in_nature
Love it!! Beautiful xxx ππ
David Gordon
In the heart of the holy city
Where the seeds of our shadows are sown, sown
I went walking all in the priest's garden
And I met a sweet child all alone
I met a sweet child all alone
The hard rain it blew all around him
Till the black earth it was riven with cares, with cares
All the roses were bending and breaking
Oh, the ravens have stolen my prayers, he said
Oh the ravens have stolen my prayers
I was sailing my own little rowboat
With my cross and my Bible and beads, and beads
It was built by my father and mother
And the name of that boat it was creed, creed
The name of that boat it was creed
Well a stream it flowed out of the village
Where the willows they weep by the ford, ford
And that stream it grew into a river
And the name of that river was Lord, Lord
The name of that river was Lord
And that river flowed into the valley
And the valley flowed into a cave, a cave
At the heart of that cave was an altar
And the name on the altar was saved, saved
The name on the altar was saved
But the raven is wary and wily
For he covets our shadows and shame, shame
And he's wearing the robes of the Holy
He will dare you to mention his name, name
He'll dare you to mention his name
Dark roses they bloom in his garden
And their roots they are fed upon fears, fears
Though he preaches of penance and pardon
All the petals are covered with tears, tears
The petals are covered with tears
I will pull down down those brambles and briars
Where they grow from below and above, above
I will build a gate out of this garden
And the name on that gate shall be love, love
The name on that gate shall be love
Mohamed Yahi
bedfect modern songβ€β€β€
Mohamed Yahi
π
Mohamed Yahi
very well
ralphyboy25
Thanks for positng