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.
Longbone
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And sailed away
To look for gold in the hills of Scone
Far away
The only gold in the hills of Scone
Is gold you′ll never own
It belongs to the giant Longbone
Far away
[Chorus:]
The only gold I've ever known
It all belonged to the giant Longbone
His teeth are long, his claws are sharp
So they say
His eyes are like a fire that burns
Far away
We will go to the hills of Scone
We′ll find the giant Longbone
We'll turn him into stone
Far away
[ChorusX2]
Through the rain and through the snow
We sailed away
To the land where only fools go
Far away
We stepped onto the shore
And then we heard him roar
He must have seen us
We tried to hide, we tried to run
Run away
He killed the crew, he threw the boat
Far away
And then he said "We are alone
I am the giant Longbone
You should have stayed at home
Far away"
[ChorusX4]
The lyrics of Steeleye Span's song Longbone tell a story of a king who sets out to find gold in the hills of Scone. However, he soon discovers that the only gold in the hills belongs to a giant named Longbone, who is said to have long teeth and sharp claws, with eyes that burn like fire. The chorus repeats the theme that the only gold they know belongs to the giant Longbone.
Despite the risks, the king and his crew sail to the land of Longbone, knowing that only fools would venture there. They have to face Longbone himself, and although they try to hide and run away, they fail to escape his wrath. Longbone kills the crew, throws their boat away, and admonishes them for their foolishness, telling them that they should have stayed at home.
The lyrics of Longbone can be interpreted as a cautionary tale of the consequences of greed and the dangers of venturing into unknown territories. Longbone represents the unknown and unpredictable force that can be encountered on such journeys, and the outcome is often disastrous. The story warns against blindly chasing wealth at the expense of safety and sound judgment.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a king who built a ship
Once there was a king who constructed a watercraft
And sailed away
He then embarked on a voyage
To look for gold in the hills of Scone
His mission was to search for precious minerals in the hills of Scone
Far away
A distant land was his destination
The only gold in the hills of Scone
The exclusive gold in the place of interest
Is gold you'll never own
One you will never possess
It belongs to the giant Longbone
Belongs to a creature named Longbone
Far away
In that far-off location
[Chorus:]
Chorus
The only gold I've ever known
Exclusively, the precious metals he has ever known
It all belonged to the giant Longbone
Belonged to Longbone, the creature so well known
His teeth are long, his claws are sharp
Long teeth and sharp claws are his signature traits
So they say
As people claim
His eyes are like a fire that burns
His fire-like eyes blaze
Far away
In that distant land
We will go to the hills of Scone
To the hills of Scone we will set off
We'll find the giant Longbone
We'll find the monster who has always shone
We'll turn him into stone
Our plan is to petrify him in his zone
Far away
In that far-off location
[ChorusX2]
Chorus repeated twice
Through the rain and through the snow
Amid the rain and snow
We sailed away
We embarked on our water-bound journey
To the land where only fools go
To the territory known to only the bold and bravado
Far away
In that far-off location
We stepped onto the shore
As we alighted onshore
And then we heard him roar
We heard the monster's resounding roar
He must have seen us
The creature appeared to have noticed our presence
We tried to hide, we tried to run
We scrambled and made all attempts to elude and shun
Run away
We tried to escape
He killed the crew, he threw the boat
The monster exterminated the team and wrecked our watercraft afloat
And then he said, "We are alone
Then the monster uttered, 'we are on our own
I am the giant Longbone
I am the renowned Longbone as known'
You should have stayed at home
Clearly, you should have remained in Rome
Far away
In that far-off location
[ChorusX4]
Chorus repeated four times
Writer(s): Traditional
Contributed by Aria O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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.