All you people who live at home easy
And free from the trials of war
Never knowing the dangers of battle
But safe with your family secure
Know you the long scythe of destruction
Has been sweeping the nation all round
And it never yet cut with the keenness
That it did on the eighteenth of June
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown
A canter from Brussels to Paris
Lamenting the eighteenth of June
It was just half past five in the morning
It lasted till seven at night
All the people stood round in amazement
They never had seen such a sight
For the thunder of five hundred cannons
Proclaimed that the battle was won
And the moon and the stars overshone all
Proclaiming the eighteenth of June
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown
A canter from Brussels to Paris
Lamenting the eighteenth of June
All you widows and sweethearts out yonder
Go gaily and buy a black gown
Ten thousand to one I will lay you
That he fell on the eighteenth of June
Sixty thousand brave hearted strong mortals
Who died, made an awful pall tune
And many's the sad heart will remember
In sorrow the eighteenth of June
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown
A canter from Brussels to Paris
Lamenting the eighteenth of June
And free from the trials of war
Never knowing the dangers of battle
But safe with your family secure
Know you the long scythe of destruction
Has been sweeping the nation all round
And it never yet cut with the keenness
That it did on the eighteenth of June
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown
A canter from Brussels to Paris
Lamenting the eighteenth of June
It was just half past five in the morning
It lasted till seven at night
All the people stood round in amazement
They never had seen such a sight
For the thunder of five hundred cannons
Proclaimed that the battle was won
And the moon and the stars overshone all
Proclaiming the eighteenth of June
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown
A canter from Brussels to Paris
Lamenting the eighteenth of June
All you widows and sweethearts out yonder
Go gaily and buy a black gown
Ten thousand to one I will lay you
That he fell on the eighteenth of June
Sixty thousand brave hearted strong mortals
Who died, made an awful pall tune
And many's the sad heart will remember
In sorrow the eighteenth of June
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown
A canter from Brussels to Paris
Lamenting the eighteenth of June
Langue: anglais
La versione interpretata da Rod Stradling
ancora da The Eighteenth of June / Poor Boney (Roud 2539)
ancora da The Eighteenth of June / Poor Boney (Roud 2539)
THE EIGHTEENTH OF JUNE
All you people who live at home easy,
And far from the trials of war,
Never knowing the dangers of battle,
But safe with your family secure.
Know you, the long scythe of destruction
Has been sweeping the Nations all round,
But it never yet cut with the keenness
That it did on the eighteenth of June.
It had started at five in the morning,
And lasted ‘til seven at night.
All the people stood round in amazement,
For they never had seen such a sight.
‘Til the thunder of five hundred cannons
Proclaimed that the battle was done,
And the moon in the sky over-shone all,
Recording the eighteenth of June.
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown -
And the canter from Brussels to Paris,
Lamenting the eighteenth of June.
All you young girls with sweethearts out yonder,
Go you gaily and buy the black gown -
Here's ten thousand to one I would lay you
That he fell on the eighteenth of June.
Sixty thousand stout-hearted brave mortals
Who died, sang some terrible funeral tune,
But there’s many’s the more will remember,
With sorrow, the eighteenth of June.
So take up your sad heart, faithless Boney,
And you bear that, instead of your crown -
For there’s many's the more will remember,
With sorrow, the eighteenth of June.
All you people who live at home easy,
And far from the trials of war,
Never knowing the dangers of battle,
But safe with your family secure.
Know you, the long scythe of destruction
Has been sweeping the Nations all round,
But it never yet cut with the keenness
That it did on the eighteenth of June.
It had started at five in the morning,
And lasted ‘til seven at night.
All the people stood round in amazement,
For they never had seen such a sight.
‘Til the thunder of five hundred cannons
Proclaimed that the battle was done,
And the moon in the sky over-shone all,
Recording the eighteenth of June.
And what a sad heart had poor Boney
To take up instead of a crown -
And the canter from Brussels to Paris,
Lamenting the eighteenth of June.
All you young girls with sweethearts out yonder,
Go you gaily and buy the black gown -
Here's ten thousand to one I would lay you
That he fell on the eighteenth of June.
Sixty thousand stout-hearted brave mortals
Who died, sang some terrible funeral tune,
But there’s many’s the more will remember,
With sorrow, the eighteenth of June.
So take up your sad heart, faithless Boney,
And you bear that, instead of your crown -
For there’s many's the more will remember,
With sorrow, the eighteenth of June.
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La canzone si riferisce alla sconfitta di Napoleone a Waterloo il 18 giugno 1815. E' stata interpretata da Norma Waterson con il titolo Poor Boney e da Martin Carthy con il titolo The Eighteenth of June
Testo cantato da Norma Waterson ripreso da Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music. Vedi anche FolkWorld #57: Songs That Made History