The Colours
(c) The Men They Couldn't Hang
I am a member of the council of the naval mutiny
And no traitor to my conscience having done my sworn duty
These are my last words before the scaffold and I charge you all to hear
How a wretched British sailor became a citizen mutineer
Pressed into service to carry powder I was loyal to the crack of the whip
If I starved on the streets of Bristol, I starved worse on a British ship
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
I was woken from my misery by the words of Thomas Payne
On my barren soil they fell like the sweetest drops of rain
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
While is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
So in the spring of the year we took the fleet
Every cask and cannon and compass sheet
And we flew a Jacobean flag to give us heart
While Pitt stood helpless we were waiting for Bonaparte
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
All you soldiers, all you sailors, all you labourers of the land
All you beggars, all you builders, all you come here to watch me hang
To the masters we are the rabble, we are the 'swinish multitude'
But we can re-arrange the colours of the red and the white and the blue
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
I am a member of the council of the naval mutiny
And no traitor to my conscience having done my sworn duty
These are my last words before the scaffold and I charge you all to hear
How a wretched British sailor became a citizen mutineer
Pressed into service to carry powder I was loyal to the crack of the whip
If I starved on the streets of Bristol, I starved worse on a British ship
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
I was woken from my misery by the words of Thomas Payne
On my barren soil they fell like the sweetest drops of rain
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
While is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
So in the spring of the year we took the fleet
Every cask and cannon and compass sheet
And we flew a Jacobean flag to give us heart
While Pitt stood helpless we were waiting for Bonaparte
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
All you soldiers, all you sailors, all you labourers of the land
All you beggars, all you builders, all you come here to watch me hang
To the masters we are the rabble, we are the 'swinish multitude'
But we can re-arrange the colours of the red and the white and the blue
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
posted by Jonathan | Thursday, October 14, 2004
9 Comments:
not long till the revolution.
I think I'm out the day of the revolution - could we push it back by a week or so.
Jonathan
I am unable to inform you when the revolution will be. Don't you think the phrase 'push it back' is a peculiar one? If you push something back by a week you are pushing it forward in time, unless you have magical powers. Always puzzles me...
Are you refusing to tell me the date of the revolution??? What kind of ally in the great struggle are you then??
Oh, and I take your pointon the push it back thingy... maybe I've invented time travel?
This wasn't intended as a criticism of your English, I hasten to add. People often use this expression and everyone seems to understand it. Except me.
you're all wierd. You'll be the first against the wall when the revoloutin comes.
I guess that "reschedule" (with or without a hyphen) would be an applicable substitute, if only it didn't sound quite so American...
Dan - I could not agree more. However, try looking around the rest of our AS Archaeology class for wierdoes. A lot of them are going on a field trip round Wittenham Clumps with Tim (and seem starstruck by the idea). Sam and I felt this might not be such a good idea.
I try to seem normal. Sometimes it's a bit hard to keep up. Like when people put furry pigs wearing Elvis suits in chemists.
Jonathan, please don't stop using the expression 'push it back' cos of me. How will you move the wardrobes in your house without it?
The wardrobes are all built in.
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