Discover the story of the song > Matty Groves – Fairport Convention

The song tells the story of a woman who sees a man named Matty Groves and invites him to come home with her. Matty realizes that the woman is married to Lord Donald and declines her invitation. A servant overhears their conversation and tells Lord Donald, who comes back home and challenges Matty to a fight. Matty puts up a good fight but Lord Donald ends up killing him. The wife expresses her preference for Matty and Lord Donald kills her too. In the end, Lord Donald decides to bury the wife at the top of the grave since she was of noble kin.