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.
Sir James the Rose
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh have you heard Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Loch Laggan,
For he has killed a gallant squire
And his friends are out to take him.
He's gone to the House of Marr
And he has gone upon his knees
And begged for her to hide him.
‘Where're you going Sir James? she said
‘Where now are you riding?
‘Oh I am bound for a foreign land,
But now I'm under hiding.
Chorus
Where shall I go?
Where shall I run?
Where shall I go for to hide me?
For I have killed a gallant squire
And they're seeking for to slay me
Then he's turned him right and round about
And rolled him in the bracken,
And he has gone to take a sleep
In the lowlands of Loch Laggan.
He had not well gone out of sight
Nor was he past Milstrethen
When four and twenty belted knights
Came riding o'er the leathen.
‘Oh have you seen Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Loch Laggan,
For he has killed a gallant squire,
And we're sent out to take him.
Chorus
‘You'll see the bank above the mill
In the lowlands of Loch Laggan,
And there you'll find Sir James the Rose
Sleeping in the bracken.
‘You must not wake him out of sleep,
Nor yet must you afright him,
Just run a dart right through his heart,
And through the body pierce him.
They sought the bank above the mill
In the lowlands of Loch Laggan,
And there they found Sir James the Rose
Sleeping in the bracken.
Chorus
Then up and spake Sir John the Graeme
Who had the charge a-keeping,
‘It'll never be said, dear gentleman,
We killed him while he's sleeping.
They seized his broadsword and his targe
And closely him surrounded, And when he woke out of his sleep
His senses were confounded.
Now they have taken out his heart
And stuck it on a spear
They took it to the House of Marr,
And gave it to his dear.
Chorus
The song "Sir James the Rose" by Steeleye Span tells a tragic tale of a young man, Sir James the Rose, who is being hunted by his enemies for killing a gallant squire. Sir James seeks refuge at the House of Marr and begs the Nurse there to hide him. The lyrics describe his fear and uncertainty as he is forced to flee to a foreign land to avoid capture. However, he is eventually found by his pursuers while sleeping in the bracken, and they kill him in his sleep. The song is a haunting reminder of the harsh realities of life in earlier times, where death and violence were common occurrences.
The lyrics of "Sir James the Rose" suggest that the song is based on a true story or legend, although the exact origin is unclear. Some believe that the song may be a retelling of the tale of James Graham, Marquess of Montrose, who led the Royalist forces during the Scottish civil war of the 1640s. Others believe that the song may have been inspired by the life of James Stewart, who was a real-life Scottish knight and member of the Stewart dynasty.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh have you heard Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Loch Laggan,
For he has killed a gallant squire
And his friends are out to take him.
Have you heard about Sir James the Rose, the young heir of Loch Laggan? He killed a gallant squire and his friends are now after him.
He's gone to the House of Marr
The Nurse there did befriend him,
And he has gone upon his knees
And begged for her to hide him.
He went to the House of Marr and the nurse there befriended him. He pleaded with her to hide him and got down on his knees.
‘Where're you going Sir James? she said
‘Where now are you riding?
‘Oh I am bound for a foreign land,
But now I'm under hiding.
The nurse asked Sir James where he was heading. He replied that he was bound for a foreign land but now he was hiding.
Where shall I go?
Where shall I run?
Where shall I go for to hide me?
For I have killed a gallant squire
And they're seeking for to slay me
Sir James wonders where he should go to hide since he killed a gallant squire and his pursuers want to kill him.
Then he's turned him right and round about
And rolled him in the bracken,
And he has gone to take a sleep
In the lowlands of Loch Laggan.
Sir James turned around and rolled on the bracken before sleeping in the lowlands of Loch Laggan.
He had not well gone out of sight
Nor was he past Milstrethen
When four and twenty belted knights
Came riding o'er the leathen.
Before he left the site, nor had he gone past Milstrethen, twenty-four knights rode to where he had been.
‘Oh have you seen Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Loch Laggan,
For he has killed a gallant squire,
And we're sent out to take him.
The knights inquired about Sir James the Rose since he had killed a gallant squire and they were sent to find and capture him.
‘You'll see the bank above the mill
In the lowlands of Loch Laggan,
And there you'll find Sir James the Rose
Sleeping in the bracken.
They were told to go to the bank above the mill at the lowlands of Loch Laggan to find Sir James sleeping in the bracken.
‘You must not wake him out of sleep,
Nor yet must you afright him,
Just run a dart right through his heart,
And through the body pierce him.
They were instructed not to wake or startle him, but instead run a dart through his heart and body.
They sought the bank above the mill
In the lowlands of Loch Laggan,
And there they found Sir James the Rose
Sleeping in the bracken.
They went to the bank above the mill at the lowlands of Loch Laggan and found Sir James sleeping in the bracken.
Then up and spake Sir John the Graeme
Who had the charge a-keeping,
‘It'll never be said, dear gentleman,
We killed him while he's sleeping.
Sir John the Graeme, who was in charge, spoke up and said they could not kill him while he was sleeping.
They seized his broadsword and his targe
And closely him surrounded, And when he woke out of his sleep
His senses were confounded.
They took Sir James's broadsword and targe, surrounded him, and when he woke up, he was confused.
Now they have taken out his heart
And stuck it on a spear
They took it to the House of Marr,
And gave it to his dear.
They removed Sir James's heart and put it on a spear. They then took it to the House of Marr and gave it to his lover.
Contributed by Aaron I. 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.