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.
One True Love
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cold blows the wind o'er my true love,
Cold blows the drops of rain,
I never had but one true love
And never will again.
I'll do as much for my true love
I'll sit and weep down by his grave
A twelve-month in one day.
One kiss, one kiss from your sweet lips,
One kiss is all I crave.
One kiss, one kiss from your sweet lips,
And sink down in your grave.
And your lips, they are not sweet my love
Your kiss is cold as clay,
My time be long, my time be short,
Tomorrow or today.
And down beyond the garden wall,
Where we both used to walk,
Are finest flowers that ever grew
All withered to a stalk.
Cold blows the wind o'er my true love,
Cold blows the drops of rain,
I never had but one true love
And never will again.
The lyrics to Steeleye Span's song One True Love tell the story of a woman who has lost her one true love. The cold wind and rain serve as a metaphor for her grief and the fact that she will never have another love like the one she lost. The woman is willing to do anything for her true love, even if it means sitting and weeping by his grave for a year. She longs for one last kiss from his sweet lips, but knows that it will never come.
The woman's realization that her love is gone forever is made even more poignant by the description of the garden where they used to walk. The finest flowers that ever grew have all withered to a stalk, symbolizing the death and decay of their love. The final lines of the song reinforce the woman's sadness, as she repeats that she never had but one true love and never will again.
Overall, the lyrics to One True Love are a beautiful and haunting tribute to a lost love. They capture the pain and longing that comes with losing someone who was truly special, and serve as a reminder of the power of love and the permanence of loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Cold blows the wind o'er my true love,
The weather is harsh and unforgiving on my beloved's grave.
Cold blows the drops of rain,
Nature is crying alongside me for my lost love.
I never had but one true love
I have never felt the same intense love as the one I had for my departed lover.
And never will again.
I know deep down that no other love will ever compare to the love I had.
I'll do as much for my true love
I am willing to go to great lengths to show my devotion to my true love.
As any lover may,
I am not the only one who would go to great lengths for a lover.
I'll sit and weep down by his grave
I will spend an entire year mourning at the side of my lover's resting place.
A twelve-month in one day.
My grief will consume me completely, to the point where an entire year will feel like a single day.
One kiss, one kiss from your sweet lips,
All I desire is a final kiss from my beloved before I, too, pass on.
One kiss is all I crave.
I do not want anything else, except for the comfort of my lover's presence.
And sink down in your grave.
That final kiss would give me peace knowing I could be reunited with my love.
And your lips, they are not sweet my love
I am aware that my beloved's lips can no longer return the love I have for them.
Your kiss is cold as clay,
Instead, the kiss of death has claimed my lover's lips.
My time be long, my time be short,
I do not know when my time will come; my days may be numbered, or they may stretch out.
Tomorrow or today.
Death is unpredictable and can come at any given moment without warning.
And down beyond the garden wall,
I often reflect on our past and the memories we shared as I gaze down towards the garden wall.
Where we both used to walk,
It was a place where my lover and I found serenity and comfort.
Are finest flowers that ever grew
The garden was once adorned with beautiful flowers and plants.
All withered to a stalk.
Now, however, everything has died and withered away.
Cold blows the wind o'er my true love,
Even after all this time, the weather remains frosty and bleak on my lover's final resting place.
Cold blows the drops of rain,
Rain continues to fall, reflecting the tears still shed for my lost love.
Contributed by Kayla G. 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.