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Henry's Downfall from the album Low Culture
This was not created by me, so I can't take
credit for it
A few words from Mr. Moray:
"Henry's Downfall came courtesy of Coope
Boyes and Simpson who recorded it on their CD
'Hindsight' in 1998. The song is more usually
known as 'Van Diemens Land' and can be found
on recordings by Shirley Collins, A.L. Lloyd
and Walter Pardon and others under that name.
"There is some info here -
[www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de] - with
slightly different lyrics but you should be
able to piece it together.
"I particularly liked the CB&S version
because of the words
"I was brought up in Warwickshire
In Southam town did dwell
My name it is young Henry,
in Harbourne known full well"
"Harbourne being an area of Birmingham where
some of my friends lived when I was a
student. Imagine those lines in a proper
Brummie accent and its hard not to be taken
with it.
"The hurdy-gurdy tune that goes with it comes
from another song that I wrote then discarded
called "We Poor Souls". "
~Lyrics~
Come all you wild and wicked youths wherever
you may be,
I pray you pay attention and listen unto me.
To the fate of our poor transports as you
shall understand
And the hardships that they undergo upon Van
Diemen's Land.
Now my parents reared me tenderly, good
learning gave to me
Until with bad company I was beguiled which
proved my destiny
And I was brought up in Warwickshire, in
Southam town did dwell
And my name it is young Henry In Harbourne
known full well
Young men, all now beware
Lest you are drawn into a snare
I and five more went out one night to Squire
Dunhill's park
To see if we could get some game the night it
proved too dark
But to our great misfortune we were [?] with
speed
And sent away to Warwick jail which made our
hearts to bleed
And at the March assizes to the bar we did
repair
Like Job we stood with patience to hear our
sentence there
Being caught with old offenders my case it
did go hard
And my sentence was for fourteen years I was
quickly sent on board
Young men, all now beware
Lest you are drawn into a snare
The ship that bore us from the land the
Speedwell was her name,
For four five months and better boys we
ploughed the raging main.
No land nor harbour did we see, believe me
it's no lie,
Around us one black water, above us one blue
sky.
And the very day we landed upon that fateful
shore,
The planters they stood around us boys for
forty score or more,
They ranked us up like horses and sold us out
of hand,
and they roped us to the plough me boys to
plough Van Diemen's Land.
Now young men, all now beware
Lest you are drawn into a snare
It's oft times when I sleep at night I have a
pleasent dream
With my pretty girl I've roved abroad by
field and sparkling stream
Yes in england I've been rambling with her at
my right hand
but I wake up broken hearted upon Van
Diemen's Land
Although the poor of England do labour and do
toil
They're robbed of every blessing and produce
of the soil
Your proud imperious landlords if you break
their command
Well they'll send you off on British hulks to
plough Van Diemen's Land
Young men, all now beware
Lest you are drawn into a snare
Young men, all now beware
Lest you are drawn into a snare
Tags : Van Diemen's Land Henry's Downfall Jim Moray folk trad traditional niblick is giraffe low culture sweet england |
