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.
Well Done Liar!
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw a snail drive a nail
Well done liar!
I saw a hare chase a hound
Twenty miles above the ground
Well done liar!
Tell me who's the fool now?
So fill the cup and I then can
Who's the fool now?
Who's the fool now?
Tell me who's the fool now?
So fill the cup and I then can
Who's the fool now?
I saw the man in the moon
A-wearing of St. Peters' shoon
I saw a wren kill a man
With a dagger in his hand
Well done liar!
Who's the fool now?
Tell me who's the fool now?
So fill the cup and I then can
Who's the fool now?
Who's the fool now?
Tell me who's the fool now?
So fill the cup and I then can
Who's the fool now?
Who's the fool now?
Tell me who's the fool now?
So fill the cup and I then can
Who's the fool now?
Who's the fool now?
Tell me who's the fool now?
So fill the cup and I then can
Who's the fool now?
Who's the fool now?
Who's the fool now?
The lyrics to Steeleye Span's song "Well Done Liar!" feature a series of nonsensical, fantastical claims, each ending with the refrain "Well done liar!" The verses describe a snail driving a nail, a hare chasing a hound 20 miles above the ground, a wren killing a man with a dagger, and more. Each claim is seemingly impossible and absurd, but the repetition of the refrain suggests that the singer is impressed by the liar's storytelling skills. In the chorus, the singer asks "Who's the fool now?" and suggests that the liar's ability to entertain and captivate with their tales makes them anything but foolish.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw a snail drive a nail
I witnessed an impossible occurrence.
I saw a hare chase a hound, twenty miles above the ground
I observed a highly unlikely event on an extreme scale.
Well done liar!
Sarcastic praise for someone who has exaggerated the truth.
Who's the fool now? Tell me who's the fool now? So fill the cup and I then can. Who's the fool now?
Repeated questioning of who is the one being deceived or foolish, with a desire for more alcohol to celebrate the answer.
I saw the man in the moon, a-wearing of St. Peters' shoon
I claim to have seen a mythical figure wearing a specific type of footwear.
I saw a wren kill a man, with a dagger in his hand
I describe a violent and bizarre image that is unlikely to have happened.
Who's the fool now? Who's the fool now?
Repetitive questioning of who is being foolish or deceived.
Contributed by Nicholas K. 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.