Hard times in Derby no work for working men
Alice sells old shirts and coats to bring her money in
So her daughters will be teachers and things won't stay the same
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
Alice Annie Wheeldon works hard to set things right
For a world where women have the vote and men don't have to fight
She knows things don't just happen, the system is to blame.
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
Her home becomes a shelter for young men like her son
Brave enough to tell them 'I will not hold a gun'
The men who give the orders are the ones should feel ashamed.
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
Government sends its agents to weave a web of lies
A plot to murder Lloyd George made up by MI5
Convicted on false evidence from the criminally insane
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
When the war is over family get released
Not a doctor will attend her when she dies
A red flag on her coffin, teardrops in the rain
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
Alice sells old shirts and coats to bring her money in
So her daughters will be teachers and things won't stay the same
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
Alice Annie Wheeldon works hard to set things right
For a world where women have the vote and men don't have to fight
She knows things don't just happen, the system is to blame.
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
Her home becomes a shelter for young men like her son
Brave enough to tell them 'I will not hold a gun'
The men who give the orders are the ones should feel ashamed.
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
Government sends its agents to weave a web of lies
A plot to murder Lloyd George made up by MI5
Convicted on false evidence from the criminally insane
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
When the war is over family get released
Not a doctor will attend her when she dies
A red flag on her coffin, teardrops in the rain
Alice Annie Wheeldon — no gravestone holds her name
This is how the world gets changed
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2015/12/25 - 18:55
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Parole e musica di Robb Johnson
Testo trovato su questo sito dedicato alla riabilitazione di Alice Wheeldon, della figlia Winnie e del compagno di lei Alf Mason.
Quella di Alice Wheeldon (1866-1919), coi suoi quattro figli, era una delle tante famiglie operaie di Derby, Inghilterra. Ma loro erano un po’ speciali, perchè militanti socialisti, suffragisti, pacifisti e anti-coscrizione. William Wheeldon ed il cognato Alf Mason erano obiettori di coscienza. Gente come i Wheeldon davano fastidio al Governo, tanto più all’alba di una nuova guerra. Qualcuno molto in alto decise che dovevano essere messi a tacere ed il servizio segreto MI5 li incastrò incolpandoli di un inesistente progetto di attentato al cancelliere David Lloyd George. Alice, Winnie e suo marito furono buttati in galera dopo un processo farsa. Loro non si diedero per vinti e intrapresero diversi scioperi della fame. Così la salute di Alice si deteriorò rapidamente, tanto che le autorità decisero per il suo rilascio nel 1917. Alice morì un paio d’anni dopo, durante la pandemia d’influenza del 1919. Il figlio William la fece seppellire in una tomba senza nome, per evitare profanazioni, avvolta in una bandiera rossa. Winnie ed Alf furono liberati solo a guerra finita. William emigrò in Unione Sovietica nel 1921 e più tardi fu vittima delle purghe staliniane, finendo fucilato il giorno di Natale del 1937.