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.
White Man
Steeleye Span Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some sing of their glory
Few tell the true story
Most men they don't need it
White man he kills for it.
They took to the seas
Stealing the breeze that carried them towards the sun
With lust in their eyes and a gun in their hand
They said we've found Paradise
Think of the glory look at the prize we've won.
We know who they were
They were the ones who killed their brothers
To steal from others
We know who they were
They were the ones whose sons and daughters
Are doing it still.
And in their hearts what did they feel?
Did they think they had the right to steal
Another man's land who had no name?
O they didn't think he'd feel the pain.
So they sailed away from their own country
To another man's land far across the sea
And they stole that land from the people there
And they called that land Australia.
Chorus:
Why did he do it
White Man?
They sailed away one winter's day
To a sunlit land that was far away
And they stole that land from the people there
And they called that land America.
Chorus
The song "White Man" by Steeleye Span is a powerful critique of colonialism and imperialism. The lyrics begin by pointing out the irony of how most men don't need glory or validation, yet the white man kills for it. This line sets the tone for the rest of the song, which explores the consequences of this thirst for power.
The song describes how white men took to the seas in search of Paradise, which they found in the lands of other people. With their lust for power, they stole the land from these people and called it their own. The lyrics make it clear that this wasn't a fair fight, as the white men had guns and the other people didn't stand a chance.
The chorus of the song repeats the question "Why did he do it, white man?" The answer, of course, is that the white man did it for power, for the glory of claiming new lands and new civilizations. The lyrics, however, make it clear that this glory is hollow and based on theft and violence, and that true greatness comes from respect and understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
Some sing of their glory
Some people boast about their achievements
Few tell the true story
Only a handful of people speak honestly about the reality of the situation
Most men they don't need it
The majority of people don't require fame or recognition
White man he kills for it.
However, some people, like the white man, will do anything, even commit acts of violence, to achieve it
They took to the seas
Referring to Europeans who embarked on long voyages across the ocean
Searching for a land that they could call Paradise
With the goal of finding a place that they deemed to be perfect
Stealing the breeze that carried them towards the sun
Taking advantage of favorable conditions while crossing the sea
With lust in their eyes and a gun in their hand
Possessing a strong desire for conquest, with weaponry at the ready
They said we've found Paradise
Believing that they had discovered their ideal land
Think of the glory look at the prize we've won.
Glorifying their actions and focusing on the benefits they gained from their conquest
We know who they were
Indicating that the identity of these people is well-known
They were the ones who killed their brothers
Referring to the Europeans who fought and killed their fellow Europeans over territory
To steal from others
For the purpose of seizing property or resources that belonged to others
We know who they were
Continuing the point made earlier about the clear knowledge of the identity of these individuals
They were the ones whose sons and daughters
Referring to later generations of Europeans who maintained this violent, coercive mode of achievement
Are doing it still.
Continuing these practices to this day
And in their hearts what did they feel?
Questioning the thoughts and emotions of the colonizers when they carried out these violent acts
Did they think they had the right to steal
Asking whether the colonizers believed that they had a moral claim to the land and property they seized
Another man's land who had no name?
Referring to the native inhabitants of the land who were often deprived of their land and their very identities
O they didn't think he'd feel the pain.
Ignoring or dismissing the perspectives and experiences of the colonized individuals who suffered as a result of these actions
So they sailed away from their own country
Leaving their place of origin with a commitment to claiming new territory
To another man's land far across the sea
Moving to a distant location inhabited by people who viewed land and property differently
And they stole that land from the people there
Physically taking the land and resources from the native inhabitants of the territory
And they called that land Australia.
Naming the stolen territory and defining it in a way that reflected their own beliefs and interests
They sailed away one winter's day
Departing from their place of origin during a particularly cold time of year
To a sunlit land that was far away
Traveling to a location characterized by warmth, light, and new opportunities
And they stole that land from the people there
Carrying out the same practice of theft and exploitation in a new location
And they called that land America.
Giving a new name to this newly-claimed land
Why did he do it
A rhetorical question that asks why colonizers behave in the manner they do
White Man?
A pointed reference to the role of European colonizers in global history
Contributed by Violet S. 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.