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 Elf Knight
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fine flowers in the valley
He blows his horn both loud and shrill
As the rose is blown
He blows it East, he blows it West
Fine flowers in the valley
He blows it where he liketh best
Lady Isabel sits a-sewing
Fine flowers in the valley
When she heard the elf-knight's horn a-blowing
As the rose is blown
'Would I had that horn a-blowing'
Fine flowers in the valley
'And yon elf-knight for to sleep in my bosom'
As the rose is blown
Scarcely had she these words spoken
Fine flowers in the valley
When in at the window the elf-knight's broken
As the rose is blown
'It's a very strange matter, fair maid' said he
Fine flowers in the valley
'I cannot blow my horn, but you call on me'
As the rose is blown
'But will you go to the greenwood side?"
Fine flowers in the valley
'If you will not go, I'll cause you to ride'
As the rose is blown
He leapt on his horse and she on another
Fine flowers in the valley
And they rode on to the greenwood together
As the rose is blown
'Light down, light down, Isabel' said he
Fine flowers in the valley
'For we're come to the place where you are to die'
As the rose is blown
'It's seven kings daughters, here have I slain'
Fine flowers in the valley
'And you shall be the eighth of them'
As the rose is blown
'Sit down a-while, lay your head on my knee'
Fine flowers in the valley
'That we may rest before I die'
As the rose is blown
She stroked him so fast the nearer he did creep
Fine flowers in the valley
And with a small charm, she's lulled him to sleep
As the rose is blown
With his own sword-belt, so fast she's bound him
Fine flowers in the valley
With his own dagger so sore she's stabbed him
As the rose is blown
'If seven kings daughters here have you slain'
Fine flowers in the valley
'Then lie you here, a husband to them all'
As the rose is blown
"The Elf Knight" tells a dark story of a lady named Lady Isabel who is sewing flowers in the valley, upon hearing the horn blown by the elf-knight sitting on a hill. She expresses her desire for the horn and the elf-knight. Before she knows it, the elf-knight appears in her window, and with the motive of causing Lady Isabel's death. He requests Lady Isabel to go to the greenwood with him, and if she doesn't comply, he'll force her to do so. Lady Isabel unaware of the Elf Knight's real plans, agrees to go with him, leading to a frightening climax. Once in the greenwood, the Elf Knight reveals how he had already slain seven kings' daughters, and Lady Isabel is to become his eighth victim. She, however, uses her charm to lull him to sleep and takes his sword-belt, with which she binds him before stabbing him with his own dagger.
"The Elf Knight" is well-known in the world of folk music, dating back to the variants of the ballad being used in storytelling and singing in Scotland and England in the 18th and 19th centuries. The song's origin is disputed, with some ballad historians believing it could have come from the Scottish Borders, while others point towards Scandinavia or Germany. It is said that Child 4, the collection of the Ballads maintained by Francis James Child, features sixteen variations of the song. The ballad was and still is widespread, with versions collected in the US, Canada, and even Africa.
Line by Line Meaning
The elf-knight sits on yonder hill
A mysterious figure, known as the elf-knight, is sitting on a distant hill
Fine flowers in the valley
The valley surrounding the hill is filled with beautiful flowers
He blows his horn both loud and shrill
The elf-knight is playing a horn with a strong, piercing sound
As the rose is blown
The sound of the horn echoes throughout the valley, like the scent of a rose carried by the wind
He blows it East, he blows it West
The elf-knight plays his horn in different directions, from East to West
He blows it where he liketh best
He sounds the horn wherever he pleases
Lady Isabel sits a-sewing
A woman named Lady Isabel is sewing in a nearby location
When she heard the elf-knight's horn a-blowing
Lady Isabel hears the echoing sound of the elf-knight's horn
Would I had that horn a-blowing
Lady Isabel wishes she could play the horn like the elf-knight
And yon elf-knight for to sleep in my bosom
Lady Isabel desires the elf-knight to rest in her arms
Scarcely had she these words spoken
As soon as Lady Isabel speaks these words, something unanticipated happens
When in at the window the elf-knight's broken
The elf-knight enters Lady Isabel's room through a window, uninvited
It's a very strange matter, fair maid' said he
The elf-knight remarks how peculiar the situation is
I cannot blow my horn, but you call on me
Although the elf-knight lost his ability to play the horn, he believes that Lady Isabel summoned him
If you will not go, I'll cause you to ride
The elf-knight insists that Lady Isabel must go with him, even if she refuses
He leapt on his horse and she on another
The elf-knight jumps onto his horse, and Lady Isabel follows by mounting another horse
And they rode on to the greenwood together
The elf-knight and Lady Isabel travel to the forest, side-by-side
Light down, light down, Isabel' said he
The elf-knight tells Lady Isabel to dismount from her horse
For we're come to the place where you are to die
The elf-knight reveals that Lady Isabel has reached her final destination, where she will face death
It's seven kings daughters, here have I slain
The elf-knight claims to have killed seven princesses in the same location
And you shall be the eighth of them
The elf-knight intends to add Lady Isabel as the eighth princess he will kill
Sit down a-while, lay your head on my knee
The elf-knight asks Lady Isabel to rest for a moment and place her head on his lap
That we may rest before I die
The elf-knight implies that he will die soon and suggests that they take a moment to relax beforehand
She stroked him so fast the nearer he did creep
Lady Isabel touches the elf-knight's body as he gets closer to her
And with a small charm, she's lulled him to sleep
Lady Isabel uses a spell to make the elf-knight fall asleep
With his own sword-belt, so fast she's bound him
Lady Isabel restrains the sleeping elf-knight with his own belt
With his own dagger so sore she's stabbed him
Lady Isabel uses the elf-knight's dagger to fatally wound him
Then lie you here, a husband to them all
Lady Isabel leaves the dying elf-knight there as a symbolic husband to the other slain princesses
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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Des Allen
Steeleye's line-up has continually evolved and that has broadened their range. To be applauded. Only one constant, the incomparable Maddy Prior. I'm 73 and Maddy is two years older. Hope I go first. Can't imagine Steeleye without Maddy. I love her voice and her joie de vivre on stage.
Bjørn Sverre Kristensen
This is great! Form, content, all! Gay Woods' voice is unique, especially in the high registers. Why on earth did she leave the group?
Smiffy83
She was pushed out, despite being a founder member of the group 😢
Bob gallagher
This is epic. The singing , especially Gay Woods, reaches for the divine, gets there and leaves you shaking. Wow!
Jimmy Malone
Ceart. Guth binn aici
Jimmy Malone
Still shaking boss as paul newman said
Jimmy Malone
Her maiden name corcoran.i know gay well. Grew up with her
Bob gallagher
Pa Gall I'm from the Whitechapel Road, Bethnal Green and now live in th South of France, but my grandfathre was from Mallow, County Cork, hence the fixation with Gay Woods...
Russ Jones
I saw them once, in the Ten Man Mop days, and then again right after Now We Are Six. Some of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.
Kei Lei
The are several very fine performers who do justice to this song. But Steeleye Span is my favorite performer. Something about the musical instruments and their beautiful voices as they tell the story just puts me right there in the song. Thank you Steeleye Span.