* Seth Lakeman * Martin Simpson * Fay Hield * Nancy Kerr * Sam Sweeney * Ro… Read Full Bio ↴* Seth Lakeman * Martin Simpson * Fay Hield * Nancy Kerr * Sam Sweeney * Rob Harbron * Ben Nicholls *
The Full English is a groundbreaking project sponsored by the English Folk Dance and Song Society that draws together for the first time the early 20th century folksong collections of Harry Albino , Lucy Broadwood , Clive Carey , Percy Grainger , Maud Karpeles , Frank Kidson , Thomas Fairman Ordish , Cecil Sharp , Ralph Vaughan Williams and Alfred Williams.
The result is the most comprehensive searchable database of British folk songs, tunes, dances and customs in the world. And to mark the launch of the project, folksong scholar and acclaimed singer Fay Hield has assembled The Full English band, pulling together half a dozen of the top talents on the English folk music circuit for an evening of songs drawn from these unique collections. Together the band have recorded a tremendous album of material drawn from these historic collections.
Rapidly becoming identified as a folk supergroup the Full English includes
singer and fiddle player Seth Lakeman, who has successfully steered English folk into the musical mainstream with his high-energy performances and a series of best-selling albums,
and one of the world's finest and most admired guitarists, Martin Simpson.
Nancy Kerr is another fiddler/singer with a deep commitment to the English traditional repertoire, celebrated for her boundary-smashing partnerships with Eliza Carthy and James Fagan.
Sam Sweeney (fiddle) and
Rob Harbron (concertina) are formidable instrumentalists who feature in Fay's backing band The Hurricane Party as well as in Jon Boden's Remnant Kings, and are two of the most in-demand session musicians on the scene.
Nailing all this multi-instrumentality down is Ben Nicholls, double bassist of choice for artists as diverse as the Seth Lakeman Band, Martin Carthy and Jimmy Somerville.

Arthur O'Bradley
The Full English Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Come neighbours and listen a while
If ever you wish for to smile
Or hear a true story of old,
Attend to what I do unfold

A fella whose fame did resound
Through every village and town,
For fun, for frolic and whim,

None was ever equal to him.

Arthur being stout and bold,
Near upon thirty years old.
He needs a-wooing must go
To get him a lady you know.

So getting young Dolly's consent,
Away to get married they went.

To make himself noble appear
He mounted the old padded mare.

Overall Meaning

The Full English's song Arthur O'Bradley is a fun and lively telling of the story of Arthur, a man who was famous for his sense of fun and the pranks he played on others. The storyteller invites the listeners to gather and hear the tale of Arthur, who was the life and soul of every village and town. He was unrivaled in his sense of humor and mischievousness.

The lyrics go on to talk about Arthur's quest to find a lady to marry. Despite being thirty years old and stout and bold, he needs to go a-wooing. Eventually, he gets the consent of young Dolly and they get married. To make himself appear noble on his big day, Arthur mounts the old padded mare. The song is a fun and light-hearted take on the life and times of Arthur O'Bradley.

Line by Line Meaning

Come neighbours and listen a while
Let me tell you a story and entertain you

If ever you wish for to smile
If you want to laugh

Or hear a true story of old,
Or listen to an old true story

Attend to what I do unfold
Listen closely to what I'm about to tell you

A fella whose fame did resound
There was a man who was famous everywhere

Through every village and town,
Known in every town and village

For fun, for frolic and whim,
Known for his humor and playful nature

None was ever equal to him.
No one could match him

Arthur being stout and bold,
Arthur was strong and brave

Near upon thirty years old.
Almost 30 years old

He needs a-wooing must go
He needed to find a wife