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This song was written around the terrible slaughter of our shire and farm horses in this senseless war:
This song was written around the terrible slaughter of our shire and farm horses in this senseless war:
The Stallion Tom
Ch1 Fair stood the wind fur France
The waves wus roarin mighty
Fair stood the wind fur France
An wi wuz leavin
Blighty
The stallion Tom an mi
Wi served the mare-run farmland
Then Kitchener
called fur wi
So wi walked down frum Cleveland
(ch 1)
An Tom ee wuz called to war
To aul the guns in battle
The reason they called im fur
To aul wur bullets rattle
(Ch 2) Ill stood the wind
in France
The rain wus pourin mighty
Ill stood the wind in France
An wi wuz outa
Blighty
An ee wuz a Shire alright
Iz eart wuz big an steady
Fur aulin the guns all night
An ee stood ever ready
(ch 2)
But Tom i wuz flesh an bone
Wi shells an bullets rainin
An ee’d work on alone
You'd not ear Tom complainin
(ch 2)
The shell that kilt im came
As a stood on iz leaside
Twas wun that bore mi name
An that wuz ow owd Tom died
(ch 2)
Ee lay as if asleep
Along the meada dreamin
The mud it wuz slick an deep
The very air wuz screamin
(ch 2)
An a wuz screamin too
The shell took both mi legs out
Well wat wuz a to do
The dragged mi ter the dugout
(ch 2)
A dreamed an screamed fur Tom
A dreamed that wi wuz walkin
Along the fields of ome
An Tom could ear mi talkin
(ch 2)
Ah wish a ad died wi Tom
A wud na wonce abandon
The patched mi an auled mi ome
Ee Tom i were a grand un
(Ch 3) Fair stood the wind frum France
The waves wus roarin mighty
Fair stood the wind frum France
An wi wuz back in Blighty
The stallion Tom an mi
Wi wauked the northern farmland
Iz mares an then mi tea
Wen wi wuz ome in Cleveland
(Ch 3) Fair stood the wind frum France
The waves wus roarin mighty
The waves wus roarin mighty
Fair stood the wind frum France
An wi wuz back in Blighty
© 1999 Charlotte Peters Rock
***
John Jem an Willie an Winnie
They'd been cuttin an rakin an cockin all week
They'd been cuttin an rakin an cockin all week
When Polly wuz backed inter shafts fer the walk
An piled on the ay wain we rode - fur ahr cheek
John Jem an Willie an Winnie
Aggie an Mary an me
Aggie an Mary an me
Wi watched as the pitchers put cocks on the wain
The loader built corners an rose on the ay
An just as the corner poles vanished again
Arry an Polly got goin
Back up the lane te the yard
She pulled past the owse an the stables an such
An roun be the shippon an inter the barn
An we followed on wi the pitchers te watch
John Jem an Willie an Winne
Aggie an Mary an me
An as wi got older wi worked fur the men
Wi carried the ale te the fields an the barn
An John Jem an Willie got big an joined in
An Winnie an Mary got married
Leavin just Aggie an me
But that wuz the golden time when we wur warm
Before the boys left fur the Marne an the Somme
An only the memories still linger on
Of John Jem an Willie an Winnie
Aggie an Mary an me (+rpt this verse)
© 2000 Charlotte Peters Rock
***
Mametz Wood
“Let our memories live
on..”
The regiment was
mostly gone
All pals together joined the war
The Fusiliers now gone before
were good brave men - who served and fell
at Mametz Wood through gas and shell
“Let our memories live
on..”
The regiment was
mostly gone
The fields are dressed in vivid green
Tall stones are ranked in greyish sheen
where all those men - who served us well
at Mametz Wood collapsed and fell
“Let our memories live
on..”
The regiment was mostly
gone
Now birdsong warbles in the trees
Where summer flowers aswarm with bees
remark the gentle drifting spell
of Mametz Wood whose poppies tell (
no ch)
a tale of Royal Welch Fusiliers
whose brave young men these many years
have lain below the place they fell
by war which put boys into hell
“Let our memories live on..”
The regiment was mostly gone
The regiment was mostly gone
Now young men still so bright and brave
Remember comrades - each who gave
his life to serve through shot and shell
You serve us now - You serve us well
“Let our memories live
on”
The Regiment was mostly
gone
“Let our memories live
on..”
part of the inscription to those who fell at Mametz Wood, on
the Somme .
© 2002 Charlotte Peters Rock
***
The Tara from Holyhead
Oh Megan fach don’t play that seranade
The one my lovely darling used to
know
He laughed and joked whenever it was
played
Oh Megan fach please no Megan no
Hibernia was such a safe old ship
From Holyhead across the Irish Sea
Dun Laoghaire back to Holyhead each trip
Megan fach why did it have to be
They sent her out to Egypt for the war
Renamed her Tara
not to get confused
What do you think they needed my boy for
And all those lovely men they took and used
A u-boat in the Gulf of Sollum aimed
She sank just one month after she had gone
And some men died but some of them were maimed
The rest were starved beneath the desert sun
And now its 1916 and they’re back
Four months they starved til some of them were dead
But my boy’s not amongst them - that is clear
Was he blown to bits or starved instead
Lovely men from war to Holyhead
Back to start the fighting once again
How..how can I face them now he’s dead
I’m so glad they’re back - those lovely men
Oh Megan fach don’t play that seranade
The one my lovely darling used to
know
He laughed and joked whenever it was
played
Oh Megan fach please no Megan no
© 2002 Charlotte Peters Rock
***
Middlewich World War 1
Marchin off ter war mi lads
A fine upstanding bunch yer are
Marchin off to war – now get
Them shoulders up an back
The call as cum to serve yer
King an country
An all the farms an works are
in a quand’ry
Dunt leave that lorry body on
the gantry
ch
Yer big an brave – dunt lissen
ter yer Muther
Yer used ter workin ard in
any weather
Cum on mi lads – jus sign up
all together
ch
Eres yer docket fur the train
that’s leavin
Kiss yer girl – cum on an old
the shovin
Practicin yer marchin not yer
lovin
ch
Overseas before yer know – mi
sailors
Old yer sickness – eat yer
grease yer foulers
Worse than this ull soon be
yours – yer wailers
ch
Weeks away an silences an
worry
Ow ahr lads were marched off
in a flurry
Nah thur comin omeward –
thurs no urry
ch
John’s gon blind an Little
Eddie’s wailin
Tom an Rob an Arry’s all ome
limpin
Most of ahr lads brought back
in a coffin
ch
See the empty fields an read
the roll call
Widders - orphans - family by
the church wall
Never loved these lads to see
thur youth fall.
Marchin off ter war mi lads
A fine upstanding bunch yer are
Marchin off to war – now get
Them shoulders up an back
© 2014 Charlotte Peters Rock
***
Weeds an War
Brave weeds are growin taller
now
The tow path carries flower eads
Ahr lads were taken off to
war
What were they workin for?
Wi childer sproutin up like weeds
Their clothes are falling
from their backs
Their Dads were taken off to
war
What were we livin for?
We wash and bake and do wi out
No money comes to keep us fed
Last night we heard more died
in war
What are they dyin for?
Wi babbies due and nowt to do
We work or rest our feet a
bit
An soon we’ll see the back of
war
That’s what we’re waitin for.
Old on to what we ave as ope
Tend men an babbies all the
same
There’s only one sad end to
war
What are we grieving for?
Ahr tender boys grow starved an chill
Let this war end when they
are young
Or else they’ll send them off
to war
We need an end to war.
© 2014 Charlotte Peters Rock
