The band is one of the few outfits still burning with the fire of punk, but managing to combine it with the ideals and knowledge of English folk music - a balancing act they've made into a fine art over the years. And they have deep roots in the U.K. folk scene, emerging from both the Whitstable Oyster Co. Ceilidh Band, which formed in 1975, and Fiddler's Dram, a group put together in 1973 by Dave Arbus, whose fiddle work had graced releases by East of Eden and the Who.
Prosser, Telfer, and Taylor were also in Fiddler's Dram, whose moment of fame arrived in 1979 with the British hit single "Day Trip to Bangor" - released after they'd split up. They reconvened for a last album when Kearey joined them. He also became part of the band's alter ego, the roots-oriented Oyster Ceilidh Band, as they'd now become. With Fiddler's Dram no longer extant, the members put their energies in the newly renamed Oyster Band in 1981, playing gigs around England and self-releasing albums on their own Pukka label.
The band returned in 2003 after the longest recording layoff of its career with Rise Above, which included eight originals and two English traditional numbers, and featured the work of Irish piper James O'Grady throughout.
In 1990, the band collaborated with renowned folk singer June Tabor for the album Freedom and Rain and a tour.
Current Lineup:
Chopper - bass guitar, cello, vocals
John Jones - melodeon, lead vocals
Alan Prosser - guitars, viola, vocals
Ian Telfer - fiddle, English concertina, vocals
Dil Davies - drums
http://www.oysterband.co.uk/
We'll Be There
Oysterband Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To hear the river talking
A murmuring, a secret sound
Never found
And times I've leaned into the wind
To smell this earth I'm walking
With the song of the wind my heart is wound
All around
CHORUS
You can bring your JCBs
You can bring your drills and your 'drivers
You've got the might
But you've got no right
We'll be there, we'll be there, we'll be there
We've wandered under winter stars
To trace them in their courses
Summer nights at standing stones
We stood alone
We took the water in our hand
We rode the chalk-white horses
We dreamt one day they'd understand
We share this land
This holy ground
CHORUS
Leave this, leave this land alone
Leave this, leave this land alone
Leave this, leave this land alone
Leave this, leave this land alone
Leave this, leave this land alone
I said leave this, leave this land alone
Leave this, leave this land alone
Leave this, leave this land alone
The lyrics to Oysterband's song "We'll Be There" reflect a deep connection to the land and nature. The singer has walked the hill and listened to the river speaking in a secret murmuring that he/she could not decipher. The wind is a song that wraps around the singer's heart, creating a sense of oneness with the earth. The ground the singer is walking on is holy and deserves respect and protection.
The chorus addresses those who would harm the land with their JCBs and drills, saying that even though they might have the power, they have no right to do so. The singer and others who share this land will be there to protect it.
The second verse continues with the theme of a deep relationship to the land, mentioning winter stars, standing stones, the chalk-white horses, and dreaming that someday others would understand the importance of sharing this land. The repetition of "holy ground" reinforces the spiritual aspect of this relationship.
The repeated refrain "Leave this, leave this land alone" at the end of the song is a passionate plea to those who would exploit the land for their own purposes, to let it be and give it the respect it deserves.
Line by Line Meaning
I've walked this hill a hundred times
I have climbed up this hill innumerable times
To hear the river talking
To listen to the sound of the river
A murmuring, a secret sound
A low, unclear, and secretive sound
Never found
Unable to discover
And times I've leaned into the wind
And sometimes I've stood facing the wind
To smell this earth I'm walking
To inhale the essence of the soil beneath my feet
With the song of the wind my heart is wound
My heart feels deeply connected to the melody of the wind
All around
Everywhere around me
It's holy ground
This place holds sacred meaning to me
You can bring your JCBs
You can bring your heavy construction equipment
You can bring your drills and your 'drivers
You can bring your drilling machines and drivers
You've got the might
You have strength and power
But you've got no right
But you lack the ethical or legal authority to act
We'll be there, we'll be there, we'll be there
We will always be there to protect what belongs to us
We've wandered under winter stars
We have travelled aimlessly under the stars of winter
To trace them in their courses
To follow the trajectory of those stars
Summer nights at standing stones
Summer nights spent by the upright, prehistoric stones
We stood alone
We stood in solitude
We took the water in our hand
We held the water in the cup of our hands
We rode the chalk-white horses
We rode the horses of pale, white chalk
We dreamt one day they'd understand
We hoped for understanding from others someday
We share this land
We possess this land together
This holy ground
This ground has deep religious significance
Leave this, leave this land alone
Stay away from the land
I said leave this, leave this land alone
I insist, abandon your intentions towards this land
Contributed by Max T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.