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.
Somebody's Following Me
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Somebody's following, following me.
Look in his eyes, this man, he'll tell you nothing
You'll have to do what he says if you
Look in his eyes, this man, it's no use running
I know I mustn't look back at him.
I feel a chill that runs straight to the bone
(Somebody's following, following me)
(There's been other young girls he's taken)
If I happen to take just one look in his eyes
He will turn me to ice, oh why can't I run away?
Something is stopping me running away.
Look in his eyes, this man, you'd never know it
He'll own your body and soul if you
Look in his eyes, this man, I mustn't show it
I mustn't show that I'm scared of him.
I feel his breath on the back of my hair
(Somebody's following, following me)
And there's fear in the air and I know that I'm not mistaken
(There's been other young girls he's taken)
If I happen to take just one look in his eyes
He will turn me to ice, oh why can't I run away?
What is it stopping me running away?
.
Look in his eyes, this man, he'll tell you nothing
You'll have to do what he says if you
Look in his eyes, this man, it's no use running
I know I mustn't look back at him.
I feel a chill that runs straight to the bone
(Somebody's following, following me)
I've never felt so alone and I know that I'm not mistaken
(There's been other young girls he's taken)
If I happen to take just one look in his eyes
He will turn me to ice, oh why can't I run away?
Something is stopping me running away
What is it stopping me running away?
Something is stopping me running away
What is it stopping me running away?
Something is stopping me running away
The song "Following Me" by Steeleye Span is a haunting cautionary tale about a young woman being followed by a threatening and unknown man. The lyrics present a sense of danger, fear, and desperation that is accentuated by the eerie melody and vocal delivery of the lead singer, Maddy Prior. The repetitive and urgent nature of the lyrics serves to emphasize the relentless presence of the stalker; the woman's inability to escape from him despite her instinctual fear is highlighted as well.
The chorus of the song, "Somebody's following, following me," serves to exemplify the paranoia felt by the singer. She describes the man as having the ability to own her "body and soul" and the power to turn her "to ice" if she were to look him in the eye. These lyrics suggest that the man is a symbol of a larger, societal threat that many women face. The singer's inability to "run away" mirrors the feeling of helplessness and the lack of control that women sometimes feel in the face of sexual harassment or stalking.
Overall, "Following Me" is a powerful commentary on the pervasive nature of sexual harassment and the social and emotional consequences it has for its victims. The lyrics and the music work together to paint a vivid and tragic picture of a woman's struggle to escape from a terrifying situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Somebody's following, following me
I feel like someone is following me.
Look in his eyes, this man, he'll tell you nothing
I can't glean anything about him by looking into his eyes.
You'll have to do what he says if you
I will have to do whatever he tells me to do.
Look in his eyes, this man, it's no use running
Even if I try to run, I know I won't be able to get away from him.
I know I mustn't look back at him
I'm aware that I should not turn around to look at him.
I feel a chill that runs straight to the bone
I get a feeling of extreme coldness that seems to penetrate deep into my bones.
(Somebody's following, following me)
I still have the feeling that someone is following me.
I've never felt so alone and I know that I'm not mistaken
Despite having this feeling of being followed, I know that I'm not just imagining things and I feel very alone.
(There's been other young girls he's taken)
I have heard that other young girls have been taken by him before.
If I happen to take just one look in his eyes
If I accidentally glance at him, just taking one look into his eyes...
He will turn me to ice, oh why can't I run away?
...it will cause me to freeze up, and despite my desire to run, I won't be able to.
Something is stopping me running away.
I feel like there's something preventing me from escaping.
Look in his eyes, this man, you'd never know it
I can't outwardly tell how dangerous or malicious he is just by looking at him.
He'll own your body and soul if you
If I were to subject myself to him...
I mustn't show that I'm scared of him.
...I need to keep a brave face and not let him see that I'm scared of him.
I feel his breath on the back of my hair
I feel him breathing down my neck, which is incredibly unnerving.
And there's fear in the air and I know that I'm not mistaken
I can sense the fear in the atmosphere, and I know that it's not just me being paranoid.
What is it stopping me running away?
I can't figure out what's preventing me from running away.
Something is stopping me running away
I just know that there's something keeping me from running away, but I can't put my finger on what it is.
What is it stopping me running away?
I keep coming back to this question, because it seems like there should be a way for me to escape, but I can't find it.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: ROBERT JOHNSON, PETER KNIGHT, NIGEL PEGRUM, MADDY PRIOR
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.