When I was a young lad sometimes I'd wonder
What happened to time when it passed
Then one day I found out that time just lands in prison
And there it is held fast
When I was a young man I used to go courting
And dream of the moon and the stars
The moon is still shining the dreams they are all broken
On these hard iron bars
Look out of the window over the roofs there
And over the walls see the sky
Just one flying leap and you could make your getaway
If only you could fly
The prison is sleeping the night watch is keeping
Its watch over seven hundred men
And behind every cell door a sleeping lag is dreaming
Oh to be free again
Go write me a letter addressed to my number
But say you remember my name
So I'll be reminded of how the world outside goes
And feel a man again
Got time on my hands I've got time on my shoulder
Got plenty of time on my mind
There's no summer or winter when once you land inside here
Just that old prison grind
When I was a young lad sometimes I'd wonder
What happened to time when it passed
Then one day I found out that time just lands in prison
And there it is held fast
What happened to time when it passed
Then one day I found out that time just lands in prison
And there it is held fast
When I was a young man I used to go courting
And dream of the moon and the stars
The moon is still shining the dreams they are all broken
On these hard iron bars
Look out of the window over the roofs there
And over the walls see the sky
Just one flying leap and you could make your getaway
If only you could fly
The prison is sleeping the night watch is keeping
Its watch over seven hundred men
And behind every cell door a sleeping lag is dreaming
Oh to be free again
Go write me a letter addressed to my number
But say you remember my name
So I'll be reminded of how the world outside goes
And feel a man again
Got time on my hands I've got time on my shoulder
Got plenty of time on my mind
There's no summer or winter when once you land inside here
Just that old prison grind
When I was a young lad sometimes I'd wonder
What happened to time when it passed
Then one day I found out that time just lands in prison
And there it is held fast
inviata da Alessandro - 27/4/2010 - 10:19
My recollection of the verses 1-2 below is a little different:
The prison is sleeping, the night watch is keeping
His watch over 700 men
And behind every cell door, a sleeping lag is dreaming,
"Oh , to be free again!"
The prison is sleeping, the night stars are keeping
The watch over us 700 men.
....
The prison is sleeping, the night watch is keeping
His watch over 700 men
And behind every cell door, a sleeping lag is dreaming,
"Oh , to be free again!"
The prison is sleeping, the night stars are keeping
The watch over us 700 men.
....
Nazar Büyüm - 9/4/2012 - 10:23
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Album “Cold Snap”, with Peggy Seeger (Folkways Records, 1978)
Testo trovato su MySongBook
Ewan MacColl scrisse questo brano nel 1965 per "In Prison", un documentario della BBC sulla prigione di Strangeways a Manchester.
La prigione di Strangeways è balzata all’onore delle cronache nel 1990, quando fu teatro della più lunga rivolta di detenuti nella storia del Regno Unito, dovuta alle terribili condizioni di vita nel “Her Majesty's prison system”. Il 1 aprile i prigionieri presero il controllo del carcere e salirono sui tetti, dove resistettero per 25 giorni. Il bilancio fu di un morto, un detenuto, e di svariate decine di feriti, soprattutto fra le guardie. La prigione fu semidistrutta e potè riaprire soltanto nel 1994.