Norma Waterson (born Norma Christine Waterson on 15 August 1939; died 30 J… Read Full Bio ↴Norma Waterson (born Norma Christine Waterson on 15 August 1939; died 30 January 2022) was an English singer, remembered as one of the original members of The Watersons, an English traditional music group. Other members of the group included her brother Mike Waterson (1941 – 2011) and sister Lal Waterson (1943 – 1998), and in a later incarnation of the group her husband Martin Carthy. In 2016 Waterson received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Waterson was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. Her solo debut album, Norma Waterson, was produced by John Chelew and released by Hannibal Records in 1996, and was well-received (being nominated for the Mercury Music Prize), featuring collaborations with her daughter, Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, and other members of The Watersons, as well as Danny Thompson (Pentangle), Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention) and Roger Swallow (Albion Country Band). Her follow-up, Bright Shiny Morning, was released in 2001.

She was a member of Waterson:Carthy with Martin Carthy and Eliza Carthy, and of the supergroup Blue Murder. She has appeared on a variety of collective recordings, notably Peter Bellamy's The Transports.

In 2016 Waterson received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Waterson continued to sing well in her 70s. Her final album, released in 2018, was Anchor, the second recorded with her daughter, Eliza Carthy. It included Waterson singing lead on a dramatic, jazz-edged treatment of the Tom Waits song "Strange Weather" and on a version of Nick Lowe's "The Beast in Me".

Pleasure and Pain
Norma Waterson Lyrics

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I'm leaving here on the morning train
And I will never see this world again
I've felt pleasure
And I have felt pain
And I know now
That I can never be the same

How I wonder why the world can be so cold

And if only good die young
Then left with me cruel here to grow old
And I felt pleasure
And I felt pain
And I know now
I can never be the same

And if someday I find my peace of mind
I will share my wealth with all of human kind
I've felt pleasure
And I have felt pain
And I know now
That I can never be the same

So if the sun does shine or rain does fall
I give thanks I've had my sight to see through it all
And I've felt pleasure
And I've felt pain

And I know now
That I can never be the same

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Norma Waterson's "Pleasure and Pain" are a reflection on the duality of human experience. The opening lines, "I'm leaving here on the morning train, and I will never see this world again" suggest departure, change, and finality. The song acknowledges that existence is a mix of pleasure and pain, two opposing forces that shape and define us. The artist muses on the cruelty of the world and the mystery of why good things often seem to happen to bad people. However, the song also holds the idea of hope and redemption through the possibility of finding inner peace, and ultimately sharing it with others.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm leaving here on the morning train
I'm departing this place on the very next train in the morning

And I will never see this world again
I'm never returning back to this world

I've felt pleasure
I had moments of happiness

And I have felt pain
I also faced tough times

And I know now
From these experiences I now realize

That I can never be the same
That these moments have changed me forever

How I wonder why the world can be so cold
I ponder on how the world can be heartless

And if only good die young
And if only the virtuous don't live for long

Then left with me cruel here to grow old
Then the cruel and wicked are left to live long

And if someday I find my peace of mind
If I find inner peace someday

I will share my wealth with all of human kind
I shall share my happiness with all humanity