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 Victory
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My troubles they are great,
My tongue is scarcely able
My grievance to relate;
Since I have lost my true love,
That was ever dear to me,
He's gone to plough the ocean,
On board the Victory.
My love and I did meet,
He clasped me round my slender waist,
And gave me kisses sweet;
I gave to him my hand and heart,
And he vowed he'd marry me,
But I did not know that my love,
Would join the Victory.
Chorus: Mourn, England, mourn and complain;
For the brave Lord Nelson's men,
That died upon the main.
My parents could not endure my love,
Because he was so poor,
Therefore he never did presume,
To come within the door;
But had he been some noble lord,
Born a man of high degree,
They'd ne'er have sent the lad I love,
On board the Victory.
There was thirteen on the press-gang,
They did my love surround,
And four of that accursed gang,
Went bleeding to the ground;
My love was overpowered,
Though he fought most manfully,
They dragged him through the dark, wet streets,
Towards the Victory.
Chorus:
Your ship she lay in harbour,
Just ready to set sail,
May Heaven be your guardian, love,
Till you come home from sea,
Just like an angel weeping,
On the rock sighs every day,
Awaiting for my own true love,
Returning home from sea;
It's not for gold that glitters,
Nor silver that will shine,
If I marry to the man I love,
I'll be happy in my mind.
Chorus:
Here's success unto the Victory,
And crew of noble fame,
And glory to the captain,
Bold Nelson was his name;
At the Battle of Trafalgar,
The Victory cleared the way,
But my love was slain with Nelson,
Upon that very day.
Chorus:
The lyrics to Steeleye Span's song "The Victory" are a poignant and heartbreaking tale of love, loss, and sacrifice during the time of the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. The song is sung from the perspective of a young woman who has just lost her true love, who has been impressed into service on board the HMS Victory, a famous ship of the line commanded by the legendary Admiral Lord Nelson. The woman expresses her grief and anger at the unjustness of war and the cruel fate that has befallen her and her beloved.
The opening stanza sets the tone for the song, as the woman laments her inability to express the depth of her pain and sorrow. She then goes on to recount how she and her love met and fell in love, and how they made promises of marriage and future happiness together. But all of those dreams were shattered when the press-gang came and forcibly took her love away to serve in the Royal Navy. Despite his valiant resistance, he was overwhelmed and dragged through the streets to the waiting ship.
The chorus of the song exhorts England to mourn and lament for the brave men of the Victory who died fighting for their country. The woman's voice rises up in anger and despair as she rails against the callousness of the government and the societal structures that kept her love from her. She longs for him to return safely, but also understands the risks and dangers of naval warfare. In the final verse, she acknowledges that she does not care about wealth or status, only the love of her heart. The song ends on a somber note, with the recognition that the Victory and its crew won glory and honor, but at the cost of many lives, including that of the woman's true love.
Line by Line Meaning
I am a youthful lady
I am a young woman
My troubles they are great,
I have many problems
My tongue is scarcely able
I can hardly
My grievance to relate;
talk about my troubles.
Since I have lost my true love,
I lost my lover
That was ever dear to me,
who was very special to me.
He's gone to plough the ocean,
He went to sea
On board the Victory.
on the HMS Victory.
And many a pleasant evening,
We had many wonderful times together
My love and I did meet,
My lover and I met
He clasped me round my slender waist,
He held me around my waist
And gave me kisses sweet;
And gave me sweet kisses.
I gave to him my hand and heart,
I gave him my commitment and my love
And he vowed he'd marry me,
And he promised to marry me
But I did not know that my love,
But I did not know that my lover
Would join the Victory.
would join the HMS Victory.
Chorus: Mourn, England, mourn and complain;
Chorus: England, mourn and grieve;
For the brave Lord Nelson's men,
For the brave men of Lord Nelson,
That died upon the main.
who died at sea.
My parents could not endure my love,
My parents could not accept my lover
Because he was so poor,
Because he was poor.
Therefore he never did presume,
So he never assumed
To come within the door;
to come into our home;
But had he been some noble lord,
But if he had been a nobleman,
Born a man of high degree,
born into a high-ranking family,
They'd ne'er have sent the lad I love,
They would never have sent my lover
On board the Victory.
to the HMS Victory.
There was thirteen on the press-gang,
There were 13 people in the press-gang,
They did my love surround,
They surrounded my lover,
And four of that accursed gang,
And four members of that cursed group
Went bleeding to the ground;
Were killed and fell to the ground;
My love was overpowered,
My lover was overpowered
Though he fought most manfully,
even though he fought bravely
They dragged him through the dark, wet streets,
They took him through the dark and damp streets
Towards the Victory.
toward the HMS Victory.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Your ship she lay in harbour,
Your ship was in the harbour,
Just ready to set sail,
Ready to leave port,
May Heaven be your guardian, love,
May heaven protect you, my love,
Till you come home from sea,
Until you return from the sea,
Just like an angel weeping,
Crying like an angel,
On the rock sighs every day,
Every day she sighs on the rocks
Awaiting for my own true love,
Waiting for my true love,
Returning home from sea;
to return from the sea;
It's not for gold that glitters,
It's not for treasure that shines,
Nor silver that will shine,
Nor for silver that glimmers,
If I marry to the man I love,
If I marry the man I love,
I'll be happy in my mind.
I'll be happy in my thoughts.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Here's success unto the Victory,
Cheers to the HMS Victory,
And crew of noble fame,
And its famous crew,
And glory to the captain,
And glory to the captain,
Bold Nelson was his name;
Nelson, the bold captain.
At the Battle of Trafalgar,
During the Battle of Trafalgar,
The Victory cleared the way,
The HMS Victory led the way,
But my love was slain with Nelson,
But my lover was killed with Nelson,
Upon that very day.
On that very day.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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.