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.
The Brown Girl
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm as brown as brown can be,
My eyes are black as sloe,
I'm as brick as a night-time nightingale
As wild as the forest doe.
My love was high and proud,
But a fairer maiden than ever I'll be He took to his bride.
He sent me a letter of love,
He sent it from the town,
He wrote to tell me his love was gone
Because I was so brown.
I sent back his letter of love,
And in anger I wrote down
Your love is wasted on such as me
Because I am so brown.
Chorus
I'll dance upon your grave for twelve months and a day.
I'll do as much for you as any maiden may.
I'll make you rue the very day that you were born.
I'm a bonny brown girl.
I heard not another word more
Until six months passed by
A doctor said he had a broken heart
Without me he would die.
I went to his bedside
I walked and never ran
I laughed so loud and then louder still
All at this love-sick man.
Chorus
‘I prithee forget, said he,
‘I prithee forget and forgive
Oh, grant me just a little space
That I may be well and live.
Chorus
I'll dance upon your grave for twelve months and a day
For twelve months and a day.
You'll die for betraying a bonny brown girl
All on one summer's day.
Chorus
The Brown Girl is a traditional folk song that has been covered by a number of artists, including Steeleye Span. The song is sung from the perspective of a brown-skinned girl who laments the fact that she has lost the love of a man because of the colour of her skin. She describes herself as wild and untamed, using imagery from nature such as a forest doe to suggest her strength and independence. Despite this, she is deeply hurt by her lover's rejection, and sends him a letter of anger in response.
However, six months later, she hears that her lover is dying of a broken heart, and goes to his bedside. When he begs for her forgiveness, she initially refuses, but finally relents, agreeing to give him a chance to recover. The song ends with her warning him that he will die for betraying her.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm as brown as brown can be
I am a dark-skinned girl
My eyes are black as sloe
My eyes are as black as a sloe berry
I'm as brick as a night-time nightingale
My skin is as dark as brick and I am as wild as a nightingale
As wild as the forest doe
I am as untamed as a forest deer
My love was high and proud
The man I loved was wealthy and arrogant
A fortune by his side
He was rich and had everything he wanted
But a fairer maiden than ever I'll be He took to his bride
He chose a fairer woman than me to be his wife
He sent me a letter of love
He wrote me a love letter
He sent it from the town
He sent it from the city
He wrote to tell me his love was gone
He wrote to tell me he no longer loved me
Because I was so brown
Because of the color of my skin
I sent back his letter of love
I sent his love letter back to him
And in anger I wrote down
And filled with rage, I wrote
Your love is wasted on such as me
You shouldn't waste your love on someone like me
Because I am so brown
Because I have dark skin
I'll dance upon your grave for twelve months and a day
I will dance on your grave for a year and a day
I'll do as much for you as any maiden may
I will do all that I can to get revenge on you
I'll make you rue the very day that you were born
I will make you regret the day you were born
I'm a bonny brown girl
I am a beautiful dark-skinned girl
I heard not another word more
I didn't hear from him again
Until six months passed by
It took six months
A doctor said he had a broken heart
A doctor said he was heartbroken
Without me he would die
He couldn't live without me
I went to his bedside
I went to see him
I walked and never ran
I walked calmly and didn't rush
I laughed so loud and then louder still
I laughed loudly and even louder
All at this love-sick man
At this man who was sick with love
‘I prithee forget, said he,
He said 'please forget'
‘I prithee forget and forgive
He asked to be forgiven
Oh, grant me just a little space
Please give me some time
That I may be well and live.
So I can heal and live my life
You'll die for betraying a bonny brown girl
You will die for betraying me, a beautiful dark-skinned girl
Contributed by Savannah F. 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.