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 Fox
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can hound me now you've found me
But I'm far more cunning than you
I'm a shy fox, I'm a sly fox
And I'll teach you a lesson or two.
I'll run you through the hawthorn hedge and tear your dogs to shreds
I'll lead you from the open fields into the nearest town
And take you to my hunting ground.
Run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, I'll never give in
Run, run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, run, I'll never give in.
You can hound me now you've found me
But I'm far more cunning than you
I'm a brown fox, I'm a town fox
And I'll teach you a lesson or two.
I'll introduce electric fence to every horse and hound
And watch the horses suffering upon the stony ground
I'll lead you from the open fields into the nearest town
And take you to my hunting ground.
Run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, I'll never give in
Run, run, run
Run, run, run.
Run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, I'll never give in
Run, run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, run, I'll never give in.
Run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, I'll never give in
Run, run, run, I won't give in
Run, run, run, I'll never give in.
…
The song "The Fox" by Steeleye Span tells the story of a fox who is being pursued by hunters and their dogs. The fox boasts about his cunning and ability to outsmart his pursuers. He describes himself as a shy and sly animal, who can lead the hunters astray and escape their grasp. The first two verses of the song describe how the fox will use his craftiness to evade capture. He'll lead the hunters through hedges and flower beds, and even electric fences, to make sure they do not catch him. The chorus emphasizes the fox's determination to never give in.
The third verse of the song describes how the fox will lead the hunters to his hunting ground, where he is the one in control. This verse highlights the fox's intelligence and his ability to outsmart his opponents. The song as a whole symbolizes the struggle of many animals to survive in the face of human intrusion and destruction of their habitat. The fox is determined to keep his freedom and refuses to let humans take it away from him.
Line by Line Meaning
You can hound me now you've found me
Now that you have discovered me, you may try to chase me down.
But I'm far more cunning than you
I am wiser and more clever than you, and I will not succumb to your tricks.
I'm a shy fox, I'm a sly fox
I am a timid yet cunning fox, able to outsmart my predators.
And I'll teach you a lesson or two.
I will show you a thing or two and make you regret the chase.
I'll run you through the hawthorn hedge and tear your dogs to shreds
I will lead you through prickly bushes and harm your hunting dogs severely.
I'll lead you from the open fields into the flower beds
I will trick you into coming to a harmless place only to lead you somewhere else.
I'll lead you from the open fields into the nearest town
I will mislead you into the closest urban area where you will not be able to continue the chase.
And take you to my hunting ground.
Once I have you in my possession, I will show you my hunting territory.
Run, run, I won't give in
I will keep running and never surrender.
Run, run, I'll never give in
I will never yield or stop running despite the chase.
I'm a brown fox, I'm a town fox
I am a reddish-brown fox, adapted to live in the town area.
I'll introduce electric fence to every horse and hound
I will use a barrier of electric shock to prevent your hunting animals from coming too close.
And watch the horses suffering upon the stony ground
I will witness the pain and difficulty your animals will face after being shocked by the fence.
Run, run, run
Continue running and never give up.
Run, run, run.
Keep running and persist in evading the chase.
Run, run, I won't give in
I refuse to surrender or stop running.
Run, run, I'll never give in
I will persist in running and never give up despite the pursuit.
Contributed by Blake H. 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.