''Silly Sisters'' is a 1976 album by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

Maddy Prior Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police dr ...

and

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...

, their first collaborative effort as a duo. The pair later adopted the

Silly Sisters The Silly Sisters is an English folk music duo, formed in 1976 by Maddy Prior and June Tabor. History Initially they performed together under their own names, and as such released their first album, ''Silly Sisters'', later taking this name ...

name for subsequent projects. The songs cover a wide range of subjects - work, religion, sexual relations, humour, tragedy and the absurd. Among the session musicians are

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...

Nic Jones Nic Jones (born Nicolas Paul Jones; 9 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Regarded as a prominent figure of the British folk revival, he has recorded five solo albums and collaborated with various musicians. Biography ...

and Andy Irvine who have each recorded solo albums.

Johnny Moynihan John Moynihan (born 29 October 1946, Phibsboro) is an Irish folk singer, based in Dublin. He is often credited with introducing the bouzouki into Irish music in the mid-1960s. Music career Sweeney's Men Known as "The Bard of Dalymount", he w ...

has recorded with

Anne Briggs Anne Patricia Briggs (born 29 September 1944) is an English folk singer. Although she travelled widely in the 1960s and early 1970s, appearing at folk clubs and venues in England and Ireland, she never aspired to commercial success or to achiev ...

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...

and

Sweeney's Men Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway J ...

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...

has recorded with Pentangle,

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (19 ...

, Richard Thompson,

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

and

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

, among others.

Track listing

#"Doffin' Mistress" (Traditional) #:"Doffin' Mistress" was first recorded by

in 1963 on

The Iron Muse : ''A book of poetry of the same name by John Curtis Underwood was published in 1910 by G. P. Putnam's Sons as The Knickerbocker Press.'' ''The Iron Muse (A Panorama of Industrial Folk Song)'' is the title of two albums released by Topic Records, ...

, and possibly originates in the cotton mills of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. Her version was an influence on both June Tabor and Maddy Prior in their decisions to become singers. #" Burning of Auchindoon" (Traditional) #:

Child Ballad The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as '' ...

183. Based on events in 1592, it concerns a feud between the

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...

family and the

Earl of Moray The title Earl of Moray, Mormaer of Moray or King of Moray was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until 1130 th ...

. The ruins of

Auchindoun Castle Auchindoun Castle is a 15th-century L-Plan tower castle located in Auchindoun near Dufftown in Banffshire, Scotland. History While there is evidence of prehistoric or Pictish earthworks in the grounds of the castle, the remains most visible toda ...

still exist. #" Lass of Loch Royal" (Traditional) #:

76. Also known as "Lord Gregory". Words published by Herd 1776, and in the Scots Musical Museum in 1787. Recorded by

Elizabeth Cronin Elizabeth "Bess" Cronin ( ga, Eibhlís Uí Chróinín, italic=no; 29 May 18792 June 1956) was an influential singer of Irish traditional music in the sean-nós style. She sang hundreds of songs which she learnt as a youth, half of which were in ...

in 1951 and the

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

in 1959. #" The Seven Joys of Mary" (Traditional) #:The earliest version of this song is from the fourteenth century ("Joyes Fyve"). Also collected by

Cecil Sharp Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English-born collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was the pre-eminent activist in the development of t ...

in 1918 from Mrs Nichols. #"My Husband's Got No Courage In Him" (Traditional) #:A tragic but bawdy song that was first recorded by

Jeannie Robertson Jeannie Robertson (1908 – 13 March 1975) was a Scottish folk singer. Her most celebrated song is "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day", otherwise known as "Jock Stewart", which was covered by Archie Fisher, The Dubliners, The McCalmans, T ...

. #"Singing The Travels" (Traditional) #:Collected from the Symondsbury Mummers. A dispute between a husbandman (a self-employed farmer) and a serving man. Maddy and June sang the same song again on the live album "Ballads and Candles" in 2000, with an extra verse. #"Silver Whistle" (Traditional) #:A Jacobite song from Flora MacNeil, translated from Gaelic. Music by Johnny Moynihan. #"The Grey Funnel Line" (

Cyril Tawney Cyril Tawney (12 October 1930 – 21 April 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and a proponent of the traditional songs of the West of England, as well as traditional and modern maritime songs. Biography and notable works Tawney was born in ...

) #:A description of the daily life of a sailor in the Royal Navy (often nicknamed "The grey funnel line" from the battleship grey of its livery), written by

based on his own life. This recording was used in the opening title sequence in the film ''

Sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisco ...

'' starring

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

. #"

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...

" (Traditional) #:Child Ballad 209. A song about Scottish clan loyalty in the Hay family. #"The Seven Wonders" (Traditional) #:A

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

song collected from Jill King. A sequence of ever-more improbable events. #"

Four Loom Weaver Four Loom Weaver (Roud 1460), probably derived from "The Poor Cotton Weaver" is a 19th-century English lament on starvation. One source also names it Jone o Grinfilt though this title usually refers to different lyrics and score, which is about ...

" (Traditional) #:A song about unemployment in the nineteenth century, possibly dating from 1819-20. First recorded by

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

in 1951. #"The Game Of Cards" (Traditional) #:Also known as "The Game of All Fours". Noted by Cecil Sharp in 1908. Another erotic song, this time using the language of playing cards to serve as innuendo to another sort of game. #"Dame Durden" (Traditional) #:"Alright, chaps. Food!" says Martin Carthy at the start of the song, calling the musicians together. A Copper Family song which is a variation on the "Widdicombe Fair" theme.

Personnel

*Maddy Prior - vocals *June Tabor - vocals *

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

*Tony Hall -

melodeon Melodeon may refer to: * Melodeon (accordion), a type of button accordion *Melodeon (organ), a type of 19th-century reed organ *Melodeon (Boston, Massachusetts), a concert hall in 19th-century Boston * Melodeon Records, a U.S. record label in the ...

* Andy Irvine -

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

*Gabriel Mckeon -

uillean pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

- bass *John Gillaspie *Brian Golbey *

Mick Rock Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and ...

- photography

References

{{Authority control 1976 albums June Tabor albums Maddy Prior albums Chrysalis Records albums Albums with cover art by Mick Rock