The men of Kent have met today to put oppression down
And joined with Essex's valiant sons to march on London Town
With Surrey and with Middlesex, with Suffolk, Norfolk too
And gallant lads from Hartfordshire to see the struggle through
With Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
From miles around unto Blackheath, the people made there way
And John the priest of Colchester unto us he did say,
"When Adam toiled to win his bread and Mother Eve she spun
All folk were equal one and all and masters there were none"
Say Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
On Corpus Christi in the morn we gathered at Bankside
Then boldly entered London Town, the gates were opened wide
Oh John of Gaunt that traitor, we burnt his palace down
Threw all his treasure in the flood, yet never took one crown
For Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
Then to the temple off we went, to flush the lawyers out
We burnt their charters and their books and put them to the rout
They all went scuttling for their lives a-squeaking out with fright
Like imps of hell or sewer rats, it was a wondrous sight
To Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
Upon the fourteenth day of June the king rode to Mile End
And he spoke softly to us all, "I am the poor man's friend
Your wrongs shall all be righted, all bondsmen be made free"
Oh curse the day we trusted him, for he lied wickedly
To Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
At Smithfield next we met the King, the nobles gathered round
The Lord Mayor struck a killing blow, Wat Tyler struck the ground
Our masters bared their teeth and smiled to see our hero slain
"You have been slaves since you were born, and slaves you'll now remain"
Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
The men of England rose to demand their rights
Though they've been dead six hundred years remember them tonight
They raised a flag of liberty, they fought the battle well
They died but others will arise to ring the freedom bell
Like Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
And joined with Essex's valiant sons to march on London Town
With Surrey and with Middlesex, with Suffolk, Norfolk too
And gallant lads from Hartfordshire to see the struggle through
With Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
From miles around unto Blackheath, the people made there way
And John the priest of Colchester unto us he did say,
"When Adam toiled to win his bread and Mother Eve she spun
All folk were equal one and all and masters there were none"
Say Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
On Corpus Christi in the morn we gathered at Bankside
Then boldly entered London Town, the gates were opened wide
Oh John of Gaunt that traitor, we burnt his palace down
Threw all his treasure in the flood, yet never took one crown
For Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
Then to the temple off we went, to flush the lawyers out
We burnt their charters and their books and put them to the rout
They all went scuttling for their lives a-squeaking out with fright
Like imps of hell or sewer rats, it was a wondrous sight
To Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
Upon the fourteenth day of June the king rode to Mile End
And he spoke softly to us all, "I am the poor man's friend
Your wrongs shall all be righted, all bondsmen be made free"
Oh curse the day we trusted him, for he lied wickedly
To Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
At Smithfield next we met the King, the nobles gathered round
The Lord Mayor struck a killing blow, Wat Tyler struck the ground
Our masters bared their teeth and smiled to see our hero slain
"You have been slaves since you were born, and slaves you'll now remain"
Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
The men of England rose to demand their rights
Though they've been dead six hundred years remember them tonight
They raised a flag of liberty, they fought the battle well
They died but others will arise to ring the freedom bell
Like Ball and Tyler, Wraw and Lister, Grindcobbe and Jack Straw
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2018/3/29 - 13:28
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Una canzone scritta da Brian Pearson, che credo fosse uno dei membri de The Critics Group
Nell’abum di Roy Bailey intititolato “Hard Times”
Un brano dedicato a John Ball e Wat Tyler ed alla rivolta contadina da essi guidata nella Canterbury del 1381. John Wraw, Geoffrey Lister, William Grindecobbe e Jack Straw furono altri protagonisti di quella rivolta, tutti catturati e malamente giustiziati dopo l’uccisione a tradimento di Wat Tyler.
John of Gaunt, duca di Lancaster, era il governatore del Kent, esattore delle tasse per il re Riccardo II, e fu in responsabile della rivolta per aver imposto al popolo imposte inique, balzelli vergognosi e per la violenza dei suoi esattori. I ribelli gli distrussero la casa ma non lo poterono uccidere, come fecero con molti altri, perché l’affamatore era in quel momento assente. Il Lord Mayor che uccise Wat Tyler a tradimento mentre si apprestava a parlamentare con il re si chiamava Sir William Walworth, all’epoca “sindaco” di Londra.