Tensions between the band grew during the production in 1970 of their first album, Hark! The Village Wait to the point where they never again worked together after its completion, but the music itself shows no signs of these difficulties. While having a rock sensibility there is a greater sense of the authentic folk tradition than even in the best of Fairport, and a particular beauty arising from the two pairs of voices. The Woods being replaced by admired folk stalwart Martin Carthy, with violinist Peter Knight to widen the musical textures, the group late in 1970 recorded their most admired record Please to see the King. Ten Man Mop followed in 1971, more accomplished but generally felt to be less exciting. The expensive gatefold sleeve swallowed the band's royalties, and was referred to as a tombstone, since Hutchings and Carthy then left, to pursue Hutchings' new vision of a specifically English strand of folk rock with The Albion Band, and Steeleye Mk 2 folded.
However the inclusion of the less celebrated and more rock orientated replacements Rick Kemp and Bob Johnson led to the most commercially successful phase in the band's existence, vocalist Maddy Prior becoming the primary focus of the band, and a run of well received albums, from Below the Salt and Now we Are Six, their first with drummer Nigel Pegrum, to their eighth, and most commercially successful, All Around my Hat, in 1975.
Still active, they have a claim to be one of the longest-lived and perhaps the most commercially successful of all the folk rock bands of the era, thanks to their hit singles Gaudete and All Around My Hat, 3 top 40 albums and even a certified "gold" record with All Around My Hat.
Tim Hart died of lung cancer on 24 December 2009, aged 61.
King Henry
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That lacketh things three
A store of gold, an open heart
and full of charity;
And this was seen of King Henry
Though he lay quite alone,
For he's taken him to a haunted hall
Seven miles from the town.
He's chased the deer now him before
And the doe down by the den
Till the fattest buck in all the flock
King Henry he has slain.
His huntsman followed him to the hall
To make them burly cheer,
When loud the wind was heard to sound
And an earthquake rocked the floor.
And darkness covered all the hall
Where they sat at their meat.
The grey dogs, yowling, left their food
And crept to Henry's feet.
And louder howled the rising wind
And burst the fastened door,
And in there came a grisly ghost
Stamping on the floor.
Her head hit the roof-tree of the house,
Her middle you could not span,
Each frightened huntsman fled the hall
And left the king alone,
Her teeth were like the tether stakes,
Her nose like club or mell,
And nothing less she seemed to be
Than a fiend that comes from hell.
Some meat, some meet you King Henry,
Some meat you give to me,
Go kill your horse you King Henry
And bring him here to me;
He's gone and slain his berry brown steed
Though it made his heart full sore,
for she's eaten up both skin and bone,
Left nothing but hide and hair.
More meat, more meet you King Henry,
More meat you give to me,
Go kill your grey-hounds King Henry
And bring them here to me;
He's gone and slain his good grey-hounds,
It made his heart full sore,
She's eaten up both skin and bone,
Left nothing but hide and hair.
More meat, more meet you King Henry,
More meat you give to me,
Go fell your goss-hawks King Henry
And bring them here to me;
And when he's slain his gay goss-hawks,
It made his heart full sore,
She's eaten them up both skin and bone,
Left nothing but feathers bare.
Some drink, some drink you King Henry,
Some drink you give to me,
Oh you sew up your horse's hide,
And bring in a drink to me;
And he's sewn up the bloody hide,
And a pipe of wine put in,
And she's drank it up all in one draught,
Left never a drop therein.
A bed, a bed now King Henry,
A bed you'll make for me,
Oh you must pull the heather green
And make it soft for me;
And pulled has he the heather green
And made for her a bed,
and taken has he his gay mantle
And o'er it has spread.
Take off your clothes now King Henry
And lie down by my side,
Now swear, now swear you King Henry,
To take me for your bride.
Oh God forbid, says King Henry,
That ever the like betide,
That ever a fiend that comes from hell
Should stretch down by my side.
When the night was gone and the day was come
And the sun shone through the hall,
The fairest lady that ever was seen
Lay between him and the wall.
I've met with many a gentle knight
That gave me such a fill,
But never before with a courteous knight
That gave me all my will.
The song “King Henry” by Steelye Span tells the story of King Henry hunting in the forest and happening upon a haunted hall. After slaying the fattest buck in the flock, King Henry and his huntsmen are visited by a grisly ghost. The fiend-like spirit demands King Henry to present her with his horse, greyhounds, and goshawks. After begrudgingly fulfilling her requests, the spirit demands a drink and a bed, and after King Henry complies with her wishes, she asks him to take her for his bride, to which he refuses. However, after sleeping beside her, he wakes up to find that she is now the fairest lady that he has ever seen, and he later confesses that he had never met a knight as courteous as the spirit who gave her everything that she desired.
The song’s message is a warning about the consequences of making deals with the devil, as King Henry reluctantly fulfills the spirit’s demands in fear of her curses, and even after he refuses her offer, he still had to suffer the consequences of sleeping beside her. The lyrics’ vivid imagery of the grisly ghost and King Henry’s subsequent attempts to appease her add a chilling and eerie tone to the song. It also portrays the contrast between King Henry’s power and the spirit’s otherworldly abilities, which ultimately serve as the cautionary tale of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Let never a man a wooing wend
Men should never propose marriage if they lack three things: a large amount of money, an open heart, and the spirit of giving.
That lacketh things three
If a man lacks the three key things, then he should not marry.
A store of gold, an open heart
and full of charity;
The three things required for a man to marry are a lot of money, an open and kind heart, and the ability to show generosity.
And this was seen of King Henry
King Henry recognized the importance of these three qualities for men who wish to marry.
Though he lay quite alone,
King Henry was alone when he had these thoughts.
For he's taken him to a haunted hall
Seven miles from the town.
King Henry went to a haunted hall seven miles from the town.
He's chased the deer now him before
And the doe down by the den
Till the fattest buck in all the flock
King Henry he has slain.
King Henry chased and killed the biggest deer.
His huntsman followed him to the hall
To make them burly cheer,
The King's hunting companions followed him to the hall to enjoy the feast that was planned.
When loud the wind was heard to sound
And an earthquake rocked the floor.
The wind began blasting and the floor started shaking heavily.
And darkness covered all the hall
Where they sat at their meat.
The shaking caused the darkness to cover the entire hall where they were eating.
The grey dogs, yowling, left their food
And crept to Henry's feet.
The dogs were voiceless but approached King Henry in fear.
And louder howled the rising wind
And burst the fastened door,
The wind grew even louder and powerful enough to break the locked door down.
And in there came a grisly ghost
Stamping on the floor.
A frightening ghost suddenly appeared and walked on the floor.
Her head hit the roof-tree of the house,
Her middle you could not span,
The ghost's head could touch the ceiling and she was extremely tall.
Each frightened huntsman fled the hall
And left the king alone,
The terrified hunters ran away from the hall, leaving the King alone.
Her teeth were like the tether stakes,
Her nose like club or mell,
And nothing less she seemed to be
Than a fiend that comes from hell.
The ghost had long, pointed teeth as sharp as tent poles and a bulbous nose. She was undoubtedly a devil from hell.
Some meat, some meet you King Henry,
Some meat you give to me,
The ghost asks King Henry for some meat to eat.
Go kill your horse you King Henry
And bring him here to me;
The ghost demanded King Henry's horses to eat.
He's gone and slain his berry brown steed
Though it made his heart full sore,
for she's eaten up both skin and bone,
Left nothing but hide and hair.
King Henry reluctantly slew the beloved horse and the ghost ate it all, leaving just the animal's hide and hair behind.
More meat, more meet you King Henry,
More meat you give to me,
The ghost again requested more meat.
Go kill your grey-hounds King Henry
And bring them here to me;
The ghost again demanded King Henry's dogs.
He's gone and slain his good grey-hounds,
It made his heart full sore,
She's eaten up both skin and bone,
Left nothing but hide and hair.
King Henry sadly killed his dogs, and the ghost again ate everything except the hide and hair.
More meat, more meet you King Henry,
More meat you give to me,
The greedy ghost demanded even more meat.
Go fell your goss-hawks King Henry
And bring them here to me;
The ghost ordered King Henry to give her his hawks.
And when he's slain his gay goss-hawks,
It made his heart full sore,
She's eaten them up both skin and bone,
Left nothing but feathers bare.
To appease the ghost, King Henry killed his hawks which saddened him. However, the ghost ate them like the horse and the dogs, leaving only feathers behind.
Some drink, some drink you King Henry,
Some drink you give to me,
The ghost asked King Henry to serve her something to drink.
Oh you sew up your horse's hide,
And bring in a drink to me;
The ghost requested wine to drink which King Henry served her in the hide of his horse that had just been killed by the ghost.
And he's sewn up the bloody hide,
And a pipe of wine put in,
And she's drank it up all in one draught,
Left never a drop therein.
King Henry wrapped some of the remaining wine up in the horse's hide and gave the drink to the ghost. The ghost drank all the wine at once, leaving no drop.
A bed, a bed now King Henry,
A bed you'll make for me,
The ghost attempted to force King Henry to create a bed for her.
Oh you must pull the heather green
And make it soft for me;
The ghost demanded King Henry to create a soft bed out of heather greens.
And pulled has he the heather green
And made for her a bed,
and taken has he his gay mantle
And o'er it has spread.
King Henry made a soft bed out of heather greens and covered the bed with his cloak.
Take off your clothes now King Henry
And lie down by my side,
Now swear, now swear you King Henry,
To take me for your bride.
The ghost forced King Henry to undress and lay beside her. The ghost then demanded King Henry to take her as his wife.
Oh God forbid, says King Henry,
That ever the like betide,
That ever a fiend that comes from hell
Should stretch down by my side.
King Henry refused to take the ghost as his wife and was shocked to have a devil in his bed.
When the night was gone and the day was come
And the sun shone through the hall,
The fairest lady that ever was seen
Lay between him and the wall.
In the morning, King Henry discovered a beautiful woman beside him instead of the ghost.
I've met with many a gentle knight
That gave me such a fill,
But never before with a courteous knight
That gave me all my will.
The woman revealed that she had met other men before, but King Henry was the first who was able to truly satisfy her needs.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ben - Moderator
on Bonny Moorhen
Hi Stuart, We have corrected the description above.
Stuart Tartan
on Bonny Moorhen
This description of the song completely misses the point in every way. It IS NOT about a bird.
It is an allegorical Jacobite-era song about Bonny Prince Charlie (the bonny moorhen). The colours mentioned, for instance, are the colours of the Clan Stuart tartan.