Captain Swing by Trev Teasdel
Check out the artist page.
Stream all 39 songs for free.
Story behind the song
Written after reading Captain Swing by EJ Hobsbawm and Rude 1976. Featured on my Broadgate Gnome album Songs from the Coventry Underground 2007.
Lyrics
CAPTAIN SWING
Trev Teasdel Coventry 1976
CHORUS 1..
Light light your torches bright
Burn the hayricks burn
Light light your torches bright
Burn the hayricks burn
The landlord is replacing our labour
With labour saving machines
Whilst we're in a living ditch
Under the Speenhamland scheme
With high rents and taxes and clergy tithes
We're robbed of decent lives.
Wages low and the prices so high
Families’ whole might die
(To Chorus..)
We'll unite in collective action
Sworn to secrecy
If they ask who is this 'Captain Swing'
You've never heard of him.
We'll fight fight for the right to eat
To feed our families
Fight fight for the right to work
To earn our daily bread.
Chorus 2..
Thrash thrash the threshing machine
Smash the threshing machine
Thrash thrash the threshing machine
Smash the threshing machine.
We'll send send a warning letter
To the offending gent
"Revenge for thee is on the wing"
From thy determined Swing.
You can read, read the riot act
We'll riot till we win
Here come, come the Royal Dragoons
To shoot poor Captain Swing
(Chorus 1)
Though we bravely stood our ground'
and tried to put our case
The dragoons they fired their deathly shot
into our hungry face.
Shot, shot were valiant men
Fatherless families abound
And transported to Van Dieman's land
Yet the Captain is still around
Chorus 1 & 2
Comments
The artist currently doesn't allow comments.
