Oysterband

Take the scorn and wear the horns
It was the crest when you were born
Your father's father wore it
And your father wore it too

Robin Hood and Little John
They've both gone to the fair-o
Well, we shall to the merry green wood
To hunt the buck and hare-o

CHORUS
Hal-an-Tow, jolly rumbelow
We were up long before the day-o
Well, to welcome in the summertime
To welcome in the May-o
Well, the summer is coming in
And winter's gone away

What happened to the Spaniards
That made so great a boast-o?
Well, they shall eat the feathered goose
We shall eat the roast-o

CHORUS

God bless Aunt Mary Moses
With all her power and might-o
Well, send us peace in England
Send peace by day and night-o

CHORUS x2

Come all you young gallants that delight in a gun
Beware of your shooting at the setting of the sun

It happened one evening in a large shower of hail
When under a bower my love was concealed

He apron flew around her, I took her as a swan
And I shot my own darling at the setting of the sun

As I walked up to her and found it was she
My limbs they grew weary and my eyes couldn't see

The ring on her finger, most bitterly I cried
O Molly, if you were living, you'd've been my fond bride

Home to my father like lightning I did run
Saying Father, dearest father, do you know what I've done?

Her apron flew around her, I took her as a swan
And I shot my own darling at the setting of the sun

Her apron flew around her, I took her as a swan
And I shot my own darling, and where shall I run?

His father in the corner with his hair turning grey
O my dear Jimmy, don't you run away

Stay in this country until the trial comes on
You never shall be hung by the laws of this land

The day of the trial to the judge she appeared
As God is my witness young Jimmy must go clear

My apron flew around me, he took me as a swan
And I know his heart lies bleeding for his own Molly Bond

It stands so proud, the wheel so still
A ghostlike figure on the hill
It seems so strange there is no sound
Now there are no men underground
What will become of this pit-yard
Where men once trampled, faces hard
Tired and weary, their shift done
Never having seen the sun

Will it become a sacred ground
Foreign tourists gazing round?
Asking if there once worked here
Way beneath the pit-head gear
Empty trucks once filled with coal
Lined up like men on the dole
Will they ever he used again
Or left for scrap just like the men?

There'll always be a happy hour
For those with money, jobs and power
They'll never realise the hurt
They cause to men they treat like dirt.

Oh I've just come
From the land of the sun
From a war that must be won
In the name of truth
With our soldiers so brave
your freedom we will save
With our rifles and grenades
And some help from God
I want to see my family
My wife and child waiting for me
I've got to go home
I've been so alone, you see

You just can't believe
The joy I did receive
When I finally got my leave
And I was going home
Oh I flew through the sky
my convictions could not lie
For my country I would die
And I will see it soon
I want to see my family
My wife and child waiting for me
I've got to go home
I've been so alone, you see

When I walked through the door
My wife she lay upon the floor
And with tears her eyes were sore
I did not know why
Then I looked into her hand
And I saw the telegram
That said that I was a brave, brave man
But that I was dead
I want to see my family
My wife and child waiting for me
I've got to go home
I've been so alone, you see

Come all you young gallants that delight in a gun
Beware of your shooting at the setting of the sun

It happened one evening in a large shower of hail
When under a bower my love was concealed

He apron flew around her, I took her as a swan
And I shot my own darling at the setting of the sun

As I walked up to her and found it was she
My limbs they grew weary and my eyes couldn't see

The ring on her finger, most bitterly I cried
O Molly, if you were living, you'd've been my fond bride

Home to my father like lightning I did run
Saying Father, dearest father, do you know what I've done?

Her apron flew around her, I took her as a swan
And I shot my own darling at the setting of the sun

Her apron flew around her, I took her as a swan
And I shot my own darling, and where shall I run?

His father in the corner with his hair turning grey
O my dear Jimmy, don't you run away

Stay in this country until the trial comes on
You never shall be hung by the laws of this land

The day of the trial to the judge she appeared
As God is my witness young Jimmy must go clear

My apron flew around me, he took me as a swan
And I know his heart lies bleeding for his own Molly Bond

We travel on passports
of a country that's not yet born
O but its colours they are worn

We're riding in darkness
our papers might not be right
O but the banners will he bright

The track goes on for ever
across the Polish plain
your heart is a sealed compartment
on that train

We're riding on tickets
the price was: everything
O but they'll know us when we sing

This is the hour when the city turns blue
This is the time of the lost and found
They loose the nutters in the Underground
Everything's far and nothing is true

When the streets don't feel like a neutral zone
Or the stranger's eye like a neutral glance
The very next step might blow your chance
Of finding your way home alone ?

Look sharp
It's like an opening door, look sharp
It's what we came here for, look sharp
You never know what the wind may blow

And your life's like the voice
in the room upstairs
Raised to someone you never hear
You can try and try, it never comes clear
Are you swearing or saying your prayers?

But the eyes are wide
that were shut for shame
Dogs in their backyards jump up and bark
Hull and Halifax wake in the dark
Like someone was calling their name ?

Look sharp
It's like an opening door, look sharp
It's what we came here for, look sharp
You never know what the wind may blow

This is the hour when the city turns blue
This is the time of the lost and found
There's no saviours hanging around
Keeping a watch over you

There's words on the wall and a stinking lift
I hold my breath to the 14th floor
Empty-handed I knock at your door
My empty hands are my gift ?

Look sharp
It's like an opening door, look sharp
It's what we came here for, look sharp
You never know what the wind may blow