DRAGONFLY – LYRICS & CHORDS
FOOL’S GOLD
E
the woman combed her yellow hair
B
fixed her dress and stepped into the street
E
behind her in the hotel room
B7
maria turns the bed to change the sheets
A
suddenly a flash of light
C#M E B7
leaps out from inbetween the linen folds
E B7
maria slides her hand along the sheet still warm and finds the
E
fool’s gold
she steps up to the window
just in time to watch the woman drive away
her cell phone rings her boyfriend calls
to say the factory had no work today
she slips the ring upon her finger
– thinks: “my hands are starting to look old”
but still there’s something beautiful about the hand that wears the fool’s gold
E B7 A E B7 E
fool’s gold fool’s gold the hand that wears the fool’s gold
a woman sits with yellow hair
her husband asks her “where’s your wedding ring?”
“i must have lost it washing up
you know you can’t trust me with anything”
across town on a liar’s ring
maria swears to honour and to hold
bound to him by poverty and promises and fool’s gold
WITHOUT LOVE
F C
you know i’m sorry for what i’ve done
F F7 Eb Bb
you know it’s crazy what i’ve become
F C
without love your sweet love
Bb F
bring it back – back home to me
i’ll give you all i’ve got to give
if i can’t have you i don’t wanna live
i said some bad things i lost my mind
saw a life without you but i was blind
dew like diamonds on morning grass
now it’s just cold rain on broken glass
THE SOUND OF HALLELUJAHS
INTRO: D / A / BM / G / D / A / G / D
G D
“how you doing now ?”
A D
the broken traveller cries
G D A
“we are the weak we are the wise
G D
where’ you going now ?
A BM
can i ride along with you?
G D A
temptation’s strong and we are few
BM G D A
it’s the way of the faithful the path of the weak
BM G D A
we sing or we pray cos we’re frightened to speak
G D
it’s the sound of hallelujahs
G D A D
it’s the sound of hallelu – u – jahs”
how you doing now?
i see you woke up in the dirt
no shoes and someone else’s shirt
you can talk to me
i see there’s trouble in your eyes
you’ve seen the young and hypnotised
and the road that they ride is a ribbon of dreams
and their world is as wide and as flat as their screens
are you listening now
as he sings his father’s song ?
the flesh too weak the tide too strong
see him sail away on the mississippi mud
tempted by fate or tainted blood
and the song that he sings is a hymn that will speak
to the ones who seek heroes in the lost and the weak
DRAGONFLY
D / Dsus / D / A BM / G / D / A
D Dsus D A
silver wings from the blue crash and burn, cut in two
D Dsus D A
free to fly foreign shores free to die for your cause
D G D A
born in grief raised in chains blind belief fear no pain
BM G D A
learn to fight learn to hate life is war death is great
G D
the world is your enemy god is your king
G A
and if it’s his will you’ll destroy everything
G BM G
you show no mercy for innocents pity or shame
A
sting dragon sting
D / Dsus / D / A BM / G / D / A
dragonfly – dragonfly
is your faith so correct it requires no respect
for the good and the pure and the wrongs they endure
those who live and let live knowing life is to give?
they’ve a right to belong ride the bus sing their song
you crash into satellites blood on your wings
you’re jealous of sunlight and other god’s things
the sun shines for everyone peace is a blessing you earn
burn dragon burn
UNTIL I HOLD YOU ONCE AGAIN
INTRO: F / F / C / Bb
F F C / Bb
it’s time to put your red dress on
F F C / Bb
see how beautiful you are
F F C / Bb
now the night is almost gone
F F C / Bb
you will be my falling star
Bb F
as the shadows turn to gold
Dm C
and our tears to falling rain
F C
leave a promise i can hold
Bb C F
until i hold you once again
i watch you brush your yellow hair
run your fingers through the sun
my body aches to touch you there
but time is short and you must run
i know that others see your face
the eyes and mouth that i adore
and wish that they could take my place
until i hold you close once more
Dm C Bb F C
a mother’s arms are safe and sure a mother’s arms are soft and pure
Dm C Bb C F
this kind of love no man will know i’ll still love you when you go
i know you’ve got your work to do
there’s broken hearts for you to mend
i know the pain that men go through
and those who only need a friend
and when you close that hotel door
what happens there i’ll never ask
i will only miss you more
Bb C DM C Bb
until i hold you close at last
Bb C F
until i hold you close at last
LIZZIE LOVED A HIGHWAYMAN
INTRO: A / BM / E / A
A BM
poor lizzie loved a highwayman she gave him all a young girl can
E A
and in return he gave her widowhood
A
from the bell at hempstead born to trade
BM
the butcher’s axe and the butcher’s blade
E A
and his childhood bride the picture made complete
A BM
but lizzie’s mother understood that boy would come to nothing good
E
an apprenticeship in bone and blood
A E
won’t lead my girl to motherhood
D A
but didn’t he look fine in church today
D BM A E A
in his buckled boots and his fustian coat and his feathers blue and grey
young richard joined the gregorys all essex boys the lowest thieves
they robbed both rich and poor for greed & gain
they broke into their homes at night regardless of their means or might
they’d rape or scald or set alight those poor souls who put up a fight
no honour bound those desperate men they shot both enemies and friends
they sold their souls for liberty and gold
and lizzie’s dreams of home gave way to cold nights in a forest cave
to a husband who she couldn’t keep who killed his friend and ran away
on a stolen coal black mare called bess they say
by a full moon’s arc he rode to york 200 miles away
with the bounty high he changed his name he poached the deer & the horse & game
and left his father to take the blame to gaol
til one day the landlord’s bird he blew the landlord cried “dick i know you”
and again the drunk his pistol drew crying “let me charge and i’ll shoot you too”
from his prison cell he sent a note to his brother and inside he wrote
“find men who’ll stand good witness to my name”
but he wouldn’t pay the postage due and the letter fell to one who knew
the writing of the one whose fame had brought the turpin house to shame
but didn’t he look fine in court today
in his buckled boots and his fustian coat and his feathers blue and grey
dick turpin paid 5 men to mourn in new coat & shoes stepped out at dawn
like a gentleman he bowed along the way
he stepped up to the hangman’s gate and felt his leg begin to shake
he stamped the fear and with his friend the hangman half an hour he spent
and with a proud and noble air he leapt from that 3 legged mare
and for a while he dangled free
his feathers kissed by morning air
but mother didn’t he swing well today
in his buckled boots and his fustian coat and his feathers blue and grey
they buried turpin’s body deep but when the town was fast asleep
the bodysnatchers stole his corpse away
an angry crowd, friends to his fame in preservation of his name
saved him from the butcher’s blade and laid to rest the highwayman
they gave his ring and handsome clothes away
and another woman’s tears fell on his feathers blue and grey
A BM E A
poor lizzie loved a highwayman
VALENTINE
E / A / D / E / A / D
E A D
last night she dreamed he was her valentine
E A D
blood roses bloomed on the edge of her bed
E A D
she felt the sheets tighten around her waist
E A D
as he leaned closer stroking her head
last night she dreamed she rose to meet his face
she felt his lips as they touched her skin
softly the rain tapped on the window pane
softly his arms gathered her in
E / B7 / A
don’t go
lonesome she wakes walking the kids to school
there on the newstand she looks in his eyes
“secret film found a soldier’s last moments”
for the price of a newspaper watch a man die
out on patrol shot by americans
a tragic mistake that no one expects
the pilot is named he came from idaho
retired with promotion his country regrets
last night she dreamed he was her valentine
blood roses bloomed as he sank to his knees
softly he cried “who needs an enemy
i should have listened when you called out to me..”
A A D E
last night she dreamed he was her valentine
AND JESUS WEPT
G- AM7 / D-D / G-AM7 / D-D
G AM7 D G AM7 D
the moon is slowly sinking the final moon i’ll see
G AM7 D G AM7 D
my head is tired of thinking there’s just the rosary
C BM AM7 D
an empty place at table and my mother’s eyes are wet
G AM7 F C
the hand of god came down last night
D G – AM7 / D-D / G-AM7 / D-D
and jesus wept
if i’d been a captain they would have sent me home
but i am just a private condemned to die alone
the firing squad’s been drinking it’s a dawn they won’t forget
the hand of god came down last night and jesus wept
C BM D
sound the drum for their young precious years
C BM AM BM C / C / D / D
but no glory will shine on my poor mother’s tears
a soldier’s good for fighting that’s what my father said
and if the man’s not fighting he might as well be dead
shame has drawn the curtains and the neighbours won’t forget
the hand of god came down last night and jesus wept
i got the shakes on tuesday i cannot go i said
they sent me down on wednesday by thursday i was dead
i fought for king and country 2 years without regret
the hand of god came down last night and jesus wept
we all fall in the cause of the free
when the sun sets on england will you think of me?
In unmarked graves in flanders lie 300 boys and men
killed un-loved and frightened by those they thought were friends
a nation’s guilty secret is this generation’s debt
the hand of god came down last night
EM – A7
and jesus wept
G AM7 F C D G
the hand of god came down last night and jesus wept
SINGAWAY
E / Esus / E / A /
E Esus E / A
one man singing in empty space
E B7
he sings of love and god’s sweet grace
E Esus E / B7
a better life and a better place
C#M A E / E sus / E / A
where no man sings in empty space
two men singing for company
like boats adrift on the loneliest sea
drawn by the light and the harmony
singing a song that will make men free
3 men singing at my front door
songs of freedom and songs of war
i clap my hands and i cry for more
we’ll sing you a song if you’ll make us four
E A E
sing away for maria
B7 A E
sing away in the wilderness
B7 C#M
sing away sweet and clear
E B7 C#M B7/E / Esus / E / A
sing away – hey hey– sing away
one man singing beneath the sun
he sings the tears of the motherless son
drawn to the light and the chosen one
one man singing for everyone
MARTHA WENT DOWN TO THE WELL (THE BOWES TRAGEDY)
F Bb F Bb
martha went down to the well to where her love lay sleeping
F Bb F Bb
his coat was torn his skin was pale his face was stained from weeping
C F Bb
she woke him up with a tender kiss and asked why he was grieving
F C F Bb DM Bb
he said “They’ll never let us be and so i must be leaving
C F
for your true love i’m leaving”
“oh tell me love why you must go what have i done to hurt you?
what is it here that grieves you so and why can’t my love hold you ?”
he closed his eyes and he saw his father’s face so red from screaming
“ that working girl won’t be your wife that’s just a poet’s dreaming
and a young girl’s idle scheming”
she walked him home and on the way his sister she lay waiting
“you callous boy – you selfish boy your mother’s heart is breaking”
to martha then she raised her hand saying “you must go and leave him
he’s the apple of his father’s eye and you are far beneath him
go stupid girl and leave him “
all that night he stayed away and six nights more was missing
they found him on the windswept moor death’s icy hands around him
they brought him to his father’s house on silken sheets they laid him
and with his failing breath he prayed for martha to come see him
and death’s cold hands to free him
then martha uninvited came to where her love was lying
an orange for his milk white skin and comfort in his dying
his sister sat at his death bed and would not let her near him
but with his final breath he sighed “i’ll hold you close come evening”
and only she could hear him.
she stumbled through the empty streets and heard the death bell tolling
weak with fear and blind with grief she gave in to the falling
a passing stranger caught her there “i hear death’s angel calling
and life by grief is freed from me and my poor heart is broken
since my sweet love was taken”
martha went down to the well to where her love lay sleeping
his coat was torn his skin was pale and she lay down beside him
in bowes churchyard on a stone their names obscured by weather
where love and death has bound them so they lay at last together
their true love sealed forever
( I play this in DADGAD tuning with a capo on the 3rd fret)
THE PRIEST
EM G D A
the wind blew through the chapel door the priest lay sleeping still
EM G D A
his prayer book stained with whisky lay where his last bottle spilled
EM G D A
the coloured glass threw red and yellow patches on his skin
C G D A
yellow for the tears of christ and blood red for his sin
temptation’s vandals left their mark inside the sleeping man
toxic dreams like poison spread across his inner land
a traveller passing saw his light funereal and dim
and like a ghost returns to where he died he wandered in
‘wake up priest’ the traveller cried ‘i am a hungry man
i rode a hundred miles today this god-forsaken land
bring me bread and bring me wine i see the whisky’s done’
the priest threw out a trembling hand and bid the stranger gone
‘i will not leave’ the traveller cried ‘i have returned to you
do you not know your altar boy some 30 summers through ?
you gave me faith you touched my lips you soothed my bloodshot eyes
and now i’m back a broken man to talk of truth and lies’
‘no neither one you’ll get from me’ he gurgled in his tweed
‘i need a drink’ the curate rasped ‘i don’t know what you need
what faith i had is broken now my dreams are drowned in wine
and as for truth that bitter fruit lies withered on the vine’
D G A D
the traveller shook the ragged man the dust and fleas dispersed
D G A D
‘you mean my life has been a lie and with your blessing cursed?
G D G D
and those i’ve loved have been deceived my father’s hopes my mothers’ fears
G D G D
the faith of lovers ill-conceived my brother’s bruises undeserved
G D G D
dreams all built on drifting sand visions cast on broken wings
A D G BM A
how can a young child understand when magic dies and time’s bell rings’ ?
the stranger squeezed the fragile priest until his face turned red
‘what is the point in your dull life if all belief is dead’ ?
‘no point at all’ the priest said ‘life’s as futile as you think
if i can’t provide the answers and you can’t provide the drink’
the wind blew through the chapel where the priest was lying still
down the road a stranger ran his face ashen and ill
above the door he’d carved these words ‘consider this a sign
break the bread, heed the word but beware the holy wine’
BIRMINGHAM HOTEL
E
i will sleep tonight in a stranger’s bed
B7 E
i will lay my head where a stranger’s head
E
never heard your voice or the words you said
B7 E
and i wish i was with you again
A E
goodnight you birmingham ladies
A B7
and goodnight you birmingham men
A E
i remember so well how we danced til we fell
E B7 E
will we sing all the sad songs again
in a seaside town we talked all night
i kissed your face you held me tight
and you said everything would turn out alright
and i wish i was with you again
with fools and magnificent failures
our old unreliable friends
i remember so well how we danced til we fell
will we sing all the sad songs again
the sunlight flies through the passing trees
i wish you were riding this train with me
when i close my eyes it’s your face i see
and i wish i was with you again
goodnight you birmingham ladies
and goodnight you birmingham men
the toreador is sleeping next door
and the bullring is silent again
WILLIAM BREWSTER DREAMS OF AMERICA
EM EM D A D
william says to mary we’re strangers in our land
G G D A
mary says to william will i understand
G EM D G
but what about the children we’ll give them what they need
D EM F#M G D A G
give them truth clothes and shoes and something good to eat
through the fens in darkness from boston they set sail
2 miles out at scotia creek the expedition failed
the english captain robbed them and turned the ship around
and working for the king’s own coin the catchpole took them down
mary took the children patience love and fear
she bore them to god’s calling god didn’t call them here
she’d take them to the new world a new life waited there
with passage on the mayflower william turned to prayer
A A G D A G A
oh say can’t you see by dawn’s holy light dreams of america
A G D A Bm – A G
innocent pilgrims are drawn from the night to dreams of ameri – ca
of those who sailed from devon’s shore barely half survived
from disease and deprivation and broken hearts they died
leaving just four women to fifty youths and men
but william slept with no regret said he’d do it all again
after seven years of hardship mary had passed on
patience was a weak child she’d follow before long
love & fear bore children and william held them dear
his legacy that man be free lived on in love and fear.
they sailed by the moon the first giant leap dreams of america
on star spangled oceans to faith’s righteous sleep dreams of america
LYRICS FOR ENGLAND GREEN & ENGLAND GREY
ENGLAND GREEN & ENGLAND GREY C (G5)
CHORUS
C G C G
England green and England grey Look out on a summers day
Am F F
To all things bright and fair and gay
C G C
To my home my love my England
C F G C F G G
I believe in dignity rich or poor we’re all born free
Am F C G
Austerity and slavery I thought they were behind us
C F G C G
I don’t believe the BBC monarchy or anarchy
Am F C G C
Or an empire built on piracy by our history you’ll find us
For years our women had no say no right to work or equal pay
God help the crippled and the gay the fragile flowers of England
Shut the factories shut the mines punish those fell on hard times
While they honour them who do the crimes the greedy men of England
How can a man respect a man who steals his house and sells his land
And takes the wages from his hand to pay his own expenses
The NHS our England’s jewel is bartered by Westminster’s fool
To justify his public school and military defences
Sing the songs of old John Bull Cecil Sharp and John and Paul
Come English folk come one and all to the sweet songs of our England
Take my hand and walk with me down the back roads to the sea
In spite of all we’ll both agree there is none so sweet as England
LOVESICK JOHNNY E (Dulcimer)
Sally you’re the one i love
Sally you’re the one i love
Where did you stay last night
Where did you stay last night Sally my love
I went down to the Sailor’s Bar
I went down to the Sailor’s Bar Johnny Johnny
I thought I’d find you there handsome Johnny
I thought I’d find you there Johnny my love
I was drinking in the Port Hotel
I was drinking in the Port Hotel Sally Sally
The captain’s man was there drinking talking
The Captains man was there talking bout his new love
Johnny, you’re the one I love Johnny, Johnny
Johnny you’re the one I love Handsome Johnny
I’m not the captain’s girl my sweet Johnny
Or the girl his man spoke of, I did not, stay with him
Sally don’t you hide from me, Sally sally
Sally don’t you hide from me cruel sally
I’ll shoot the man behind your door I’l shoot, my captain
I’ll shoot the man behind your door Sally you’ll be my love
Johnny, why are you so cruel Johnny Johnny
Johnny why are you so cruel Johnny Johnny
To shoot me through the wooden door Silent, deadly
To shoot me through the wooden door Johnny, my love
The captain’s man comes in “They’re hanging Johnny”
The Captain’s man comes in “Lovesick Johnny”
The Captain says “poor girl, poor sweet Sally”
And pours himself a drink His arms round his new love
SAILOR GO DOWN F (Tenor 3- Gtr C5)
Go down go down you restless boy
Go down into these arms
She’ll hold you like a child at night
Or like a ship becalmed
Lay down and sleep where seamen sleep
One eye on those above
While safe beneath the secret sea
In her redeeming love
Go down go down you restless boy
Into the flesh of night
Where all are scared but no one cares
And only love is right
Lay down among the pleasure boats
Their silk embroidered sails
And leave the priests their righteous peace
And martyrs with their nails
Sailor go down Sailor go down
Go down go down you restless boy
And leave behind your fear
On bended knees the angels please
There’s no unkindness here
Lay down with her where heroes lay
The queen of broken things
Your wisdom is your weakness now
Oh give your weakness wings
THE BAND PLAYED ‘SWEET MARIE’ (dadgad 5)
G D G C G D
I bought my love a violin so he could play for me
G D G C G D G
I bought my love a violin to calm the waves of the stormy sea
G C D Em G D
Though he’d be gone the longest time he’d return again to me
G D G C
And every note my darling played
G D G
Took further away my love from me
My name’s Maria Robinson he called me Sweet Marie
And that’s the song that all night long my darling boy would play to me
All through that long remembered night I heard that melody
And the notes he played while the few were saved
Took further away my love from me
That ship went down to the mournful sound
Of my sweetheart’s violin
With no safety vest he strapped to his chest the case he’d placed it gently in
And the icy water froze his breath but it never froze his heart
By the song he played a pact was made
That my love and I would never part
I bought my love a violin so he could play for me
I bought my love a violin to calm the waves of a stormy sea
There are those who say Wallace Hartley played
‘Nearer my God to thee’
But our souls were bound as that great boat went down
And in my heart the band played ‘Sweet Marie’
FLORA SANDES Dm (Am5)
She was born to God’s disciple she was born to hold a rifle
She taught herself to fight while all the other girls played mum
Learned to ride and learned to drive fix a wound and stay alive
How to use a sword and how to shoot a gun
When the war broke in the east she begged her father to release her
To a front line nurse’s station in North Albania
He said ‘women are created to give life and men to take it
So care for and repair them and remember who you are’
She strapped a soldier’s tunic round her charms
She said ‘let the girls bear armies I’ll bear arms’
CHORUS
Flora Sandes Flora Sandes Wasn’t born a fighting man
But God help the man who finds himself At war with Flora Sandes
Drawing close she heard the rattle of the angry guns of battle
She begged her captain free her to the raging heart of war
He said ‘there is a way but you must swear an oath today
That you will love no man completely Give your body to your country
And wear the clothes that other soldiers wore’
And flora smiled sweetly and she swore
To her a woman’s life was boredom only fighting brought her freedom
Her lethal independence craved the brotherhood of men
Between killing them she healed them later married and concealed them
But their annihalation was her greatest pleasure then
She took comfort in their silence and their moans
Only then she knew she’d brought death’s victory home
She fought hand to hand with men winning time and time again
Til an enemy grenade cut her down – cut her down
She was honoured and promoted for her injuries deported
And her doctors tried to lead her to a woman’s life again
She said ‘I never came this far to lose
And I will be a woman when I choose’
She died at home among the flowers in the quiet English hours
The soft hands of a woman lay still upon her chest
Hands that killed and mutilated lie content and compensated
It was a woman that they buried and a woman laid to rest
But as she breathed her last she felt the joy
Remembering when she was a boy
COUNTING MY FOOTSTEPS TO YOU D (dadgad)
Waiting in line for the rain gathering pieces of blue
Frightened of cars and there’s too many stars
And I’m counting my footsteps to you
Somebody loved me ok I’m searching my mind to find who
So send me to bed if I lied when I said
That I’d always remember you
Mary I don’t know my age anymore My Mother says I’m 104
Listen to me, leave me alone Mary I can’t find my way home
Everything’s in the wrong place everything’s broken in two
I’ll start the repair when I find out just where
And I’m counting my footsteps to you
This place is just like a hotel or a prison sometimes I’m not sure
For my postal address try ‘Just Sleeping’ I guess
Or the weeping behind any door
Mary I’m lost and there’s enemies near
Speaking in voices I don’t want to hear
Listen to me, leave me alone Mary I can’t find my way home
Loved ones and friends come and go
like the sun and the moon fade from view
I pray the sun sets and I never forget
Who I’m counting my footsteps to
I’ve come here from so far away and my poor brain is broken in two
But the scent of your hair sometimes hangs in the air
And I’m counting my footsteps to you
THEY CHANGED HER MIND Cm (Am3)
Cm Ab
You closed the suitcase and you waited for the bus
Cm Bb
To take you from this place away from all of us
Cm Ab
They said you would be better and they said you’d be ok
Cm Bb Bb7 Cm
Just read and sign the letter they’re taking you away today
There’s pictures of your mother and there’s pictures of your sister
There’s nothing of your father but you want nothing of him
There’s pictures of your brother and his watch and medication
He wanted you to have to stop the devil getting in
CHORUS
Eb Cm Ab Bb
She got the shakes her love was wrong
Eb Cm Ab Bb
She grieved her stillborn child too long
Eb Cm Ab Bb
They locked her up to see what they could find
Eb Ab Bb
They changed her mind
There’s flowers from your wedding made of cloth and made of paper
You thought they wouldn’t last but they outlasted any love
There’s perfume for the morning and there’s perfume for later
Something special for a Sunday and some wisdom from above
“Take some writing paper you could be there for some weeks
In no time you’ll be better you’re not like those other freaks”
That was 1927 now it’s 1958
And she is just a number upon a nameless grave
Repeat CHORUS
Sometimes in the name of kindness man lets the devil loose
Is ignorance or blindness an acceptable excuse?
Remember the forgotten remember the condemned
Another time, free of crime you could be damned like them
WHAT WOULD WILLIAM MORRIS SAY A (G 2nd)
A E D E
We used to go out in our town
A E D E
We’d go to the pub til the pub shut down
A E D E
They smashed the piano no money for bands
A E D E
Karaoke led the way, the bland leading the bland
We used to go out in our town
But the halls are quiet now shows don’t come ‘round
we ran the bar the place was full, council paid the fees
But corporate greed with slash and burn brought our culture to its knees
A D A E A D A F#m E
CHORUS) What would William say if he could see England today?
A D A E A D A E F#m A A E
What would William say, what would William Morris say?
A D A E
Hark, the wind in the elm-boughs! from London it blows,
A D A E
And tells us of gold, and of hope and unrest;
A D A E
Of power that helps not; of wisdom that knows,
A D E A
But teaches not aught of the worst and the best.
We used to see farms from our town
But now it’s all warehouse, industrial ground
Radio screams fill the air their lame electric lungs
And liars all spit politics with poison on their tongues . RPT CHORUS
The wind bears the message: “Rise up on the morrow
And go on your ways toward the doubt and the strife;
Join hope to our hope and blend sorrow with sorrow,
And seek for men’s love in the short days of life.”
Come back to the inn, love, the lights and the fire,
And the fiddler’s old tune and the shuffling of feet;
For there in a while shall be rest and desire,
And there shall tomorrow’s uprising be sweet.
TONY BENN’S TRIBUTE TO EMILY DAVIDSON D (C2)
She slips through the doorway
Away from the crowds down the stairs – she steals through the night
Just a plain looking woman
Concealed in her coat and her cares – pursuing her right
In a tangle of corridors
Furtively turning the locks – the day growing dim
Footsteps in the distance
She hears the men coming her way – the last door gives in
There in the dark with the mops and the brooms
She opens her handkerchief makes herself room
A small piece of bread and a small piece of cheese
And a jar filled with water between her knees
By the light of a candle she reads a small book
and she waits – and she waits
On the third day of April
Nineteen eleven she woke – and she gave her address
‘These houses of commons
houses of men and now me’ – she smoothed down her dress
‘I’m not asking for favours
Just claiming what’s rightfully mine’ – she cried to the world
‘To rebel against tyrants
Is to show your allegiance to god’ – she cried as she fell
A hundred years later he slips down the stairs
And he senses her purpose he breathes in her air
He’s made her a sign which he nails to the door
He knows the equality Emily gave her life for
He lights a small candle to honour her name
And he waits – and he waits
SING TO ME A WORKING WEEK (Mayday 2014) D (C2)
Come sit by me you working men and play a song to soothe me
This place is full of bleating sheep and none the power to move me
They sing of lives unknown to me like pages from a diary
Like hot air and dry bones to me and nothing to inspire me
And sing to me a working week
To Friday from a Monday
And what you don’t sing Saturday night
Sing to me on Sunday
Come travelling man and sit by me and sing your song of sorrow
We may not get the chance again you might be gone tomorrow
Come singing girls raise up your voice and set the spring trees ringing
Let those who’ve lost the skill to hear be woken by your singing
Come sit by me you working man and sing me of your labour
Office farm or factory and the trials of your neighbour
Tell me how you earn your crust and how you gain your pleasure
Who you cherish who you trust and those you love and treasure
Come sit by me you rambling girl and bring your rambling brother
And talk to me of family and the man who loved your mother
And like the bird sweetens the air sweeten my night with honey
Your beauty and your history are more to me than money
Don’t chase the lightning flash of fame it’s the light of angels dying
And the song you sing that’s not your own is the sound of angels crying
And sit beside the fire with me and sing to all your story
A song that fills the air with truth, your small and perfect glory.
RIVER RAIL AND ROAD (C4 – E)
I’m going down the station getting on a train
I don’t care where it’s going I won’t see this town again
There’s nothing here to keep me now that my love has gone
Like the heavy clouds above me I’ll soon be moving on
She took the moonlight from me put the stars out one by one
Shut the light of hope inside me and then she took the sun
So I’ll go where none can find me and my name nobody knows
My future laid in ribbons of river rail and road
CHORUS River rail and road, river rail and road
Where my future lies in ribbons of river rail and road
My love was like the morning’s sweet promise of the day
And the cool embrace of evening that soothed my cares away
Now the hours hold nothing for me the light just comes and goes
My future laid in ribbons of river rail and road
(CHORUS)
No unkind words were spoken there were no such words to say
She just said I love another and I have to go away
Was I careless was I foolish or did I reap the seeds I sowed?
Now my future lies in ribbons of river rail and road
(CHORUS)
I’LL BE THERE TO LOVE YOU (DADGAD)
I hear your voice in love songs and a distant midnight train
When the owl calls in the moonlight I hear your voice again
The barmaid’s unfamiliar and the barflies’ lost in time
And I’ll be there to love you in the morning
There’s a picture of an actress and her hair’s a lot like yours
And the woman in the corner wears a dress like you once wore
The clock ticks into Sunday but no one seems to care
And I’ll be there to love you when there’s no one there
I know you’ve heard those lines before
But this time love it’s true
There’s nothing here can stop me
Bringing all my love back home to you
Three hundred miles between us and there’s snowstorms down the line
I killed that car a hundred times it came back ninety nine
I know I’ve let you down before but I’m coming through this time
And I’ll be there to love you in the morning
Just one more night without you
Just one night til you are mine
I’ll be there to love you in the morning time.
