They began playing together in 1999 and their first album as a duo was Through and Through (2001).
In 2002 they were both session musicians on Eliza Carthy's album Anglicana, and toured with her as part of her band The Ratcatchers.
However it was their second album, Bellow, in 2003 that drew attention. The tunes and songs were mostly traditional, grounded in the Morris tradition.
In the same year they won the "Horizon Award" in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards [1], followed by the "Best Duo" [2] category in 2004. A new album called simply Tunes came out in summer 2005 and another, and Songs followed in October of the same year.
Spiers and Boden were founding members of the folk band Bellowhead, which is a project that aims to combine traditional English folk music with a brass band sound.
Their new album, Vagabond, was released on Navigator Records on 26th May 2008.
Copshawholme Fair
Spiers & Boden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O'er the hill came the sun with a blithe sunny smile,
And the folks were a thronging the roads everywhere,
Making haste to be in at Copshawholme Fair.
I've seen them coming in over mountain and glen,
Both rosy faced lasses and strapping young men,
With a joy in their hearts and unburdened of care,
There's lads for the lasses, there's toys for the bairns,
There are fiddlers and tumblers and folks with no arms,
There's a balancer here and a fiddler there,
And a nut man and spice man at Copshawhome Fair.
Oh but now about the hiring if you want to hear tell,
You should ken it as far as I've seen it myself,
What wages they addle it's ill to declare,
The muckle they vary at Copshawholme Fair.
Justielle I have seen, she's a strapping young queen,
And he asked what her age was and where she had been,
What work she'd been doing - how long she'd been there,
What wages she wanted at Copshawholme Fair.
Just then the big lass stood a wee while in gloom,
Then she turned and she scraped with her feet on the ground,
Then she plucked up her heart and did stoutly declare,
"I'll have five pound and ten at Copshawholme Fair".
He says, "But my lass that's a very big wage",
Then he turned him about like he'd been in a rage,
Said "I'll give you five pound but I'll give you nae mair,
But I think you will take it at Copshawholme Fair".
He put his hand in his pocket, took a hold of bit wench
In case it should enter her hand for to flinch
But she grabbed at it muttering, "I should have had mair
But I think I wll take it at Copshawholme Fair".
Now the hiring is over and off they all gang,
Into the ballroom for to join in the thrang,
And I never shall lie with my mammy nae mair,
For the fiddlers play briskly at Copshawholme Fair.
The song "Copshawholme Fair" depicts the annual hiring fair in the town of Copshawholme. It begins with a description of the day, when the sun is shining and people are flocking to the fair. The fair is a place where people come to meet old friends and make new ones. There are various attractions like the toy sellers, fiddlers, and tumblers. The second half of the song focuses on the hiring process, where farmers and tradesmen hire workers for the upcoming year.
The singer tells the story of a young woman named Justielle, who is seeking employment at the fair. The employer asks her various questions, including her age, work history, and wage expectations. Justielle asks for five pounds and ten, which the employer feels is a bit steep, but he eventually agrees to pay her five pounds. The song ends with everyone dancing to the fiddlers' music and the singer reflecting on the fact that he won't be going home to his mother that night.
Overall, "Copshawholme Fair" is a celebration of this important annual event in the town's life, where people come together to work and play.
Line by Line Meaning
On a Friday it fell in the month of April,
It happened on a Friday in April.
O'er the hill came the sun with a blithe sunny smile,
The sun rose over the hill, shining brightly.
And the folks were a thronging the roads everywhere,
Many people were traveling on the roads to the fair.
Making haste to be in at Copshawholme Fair.
They were in a hurry to get to the fair in Copshawholme.
I've seen them coming in over mountain and glen,
I've seen people coming from far and wide.
Both rosy faced lasses and strapping young men,
Lasses with rosy faces and young, strong men were there.
With a joy in their hearts and unburdened of care,
They were happy and carefree.
They'll be meeting old friends at Copshawholme Fair.
They were looking forward to meeting old acquaintances at the fair.
There's lads for the lasses, there's toys for the bairns,
There were young men looking for companionship and toys for children.
There are fiddlers and tumblers and folks with no arms,
There were musicians, acrobats, and disabled people at the fair.
There's a balancer here and a fiddler there,
There were balancing acts and fiddlers located throughout the fair.
And a nut man and spice man at Copshawholme Fair.
There were vendors selling nuts and spices at the fair.
Oh but now about the hiring if you want to hear tell,
Let me tell you about the hiring process.
You should ken it as far as I've seen it myself,
From my observations, this is what happened.
What wages they addle it's ill to declare,
It's hard to say how much they'll be paid.
The muckle they vary at Copshawholme Fair.
Wages vary greatly at the fair.
Justielle I have seen, she's a strapping young queen,
I met a strong, confident woman named Justielle.
And he asked what her age was and where she had been,
He inquired about her age and her background.
What work she'd been doing - how long she'd been there,
He asked what kind of work she's done and how long she's been at the fair.
What wages she wanted at Copshawholme Fair.
He asked how much she wanted to be paid.
Just then the big lass stood a wee while in gloom,
Justielle was briefly unhappy.
Then she turned and she scraped with her feet on the ground,
She scraped her feet on the ground in frustration.
Then she plucked up her heart and did stoutly declare,
She became more confident and declared.
"I'll have five pound and ten at Copshawholme Fair".
She demanded 5 pounds and ten shillings as her wage.
He says, "But my lass that's a very big wage",
He responded that it was a high wage.
Then he turned him about like he'd been in a rage,
He turned around quickly like he was angry.
Said "I'll give you five pound but I'll give you nae mair,
He offered her 5 pounds but refused to give her any more.
But I think you will take it at Copshawholme Fair".
He believed that she would still accept the offer.
He put his hand in his pocket, took a hold of bit wench
He put his hand in his pocket and held onto the money.
In case it should enter her hand for to flinch
He was worried that she would try to take more money.
But she grabbed at it muttering, "I should have had mair
She accepted the money but muttered that she should have been paid more.
But I think I wll take it at Copshawholme Fair".
She still accepted the payment.
Now the hiring is over and off they all gang,
Now that hiring is finished, everyone is leaving.
Into the ballroom for to join in the thrang,
They go to the ballroom to join in the festivities.
And I never shall lie with my mammy nae mair,
I'll never stay with my mother again.
For the fiddlers play briskly at Copshawholme Fair.
The fiddlers are playing lively music at the fair.
Contributed by Maya E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.