Peasant Poesy

by Roo

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1.	Unfair Funfair 02:43	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS A circle has been broken, a wolf is at the door; The sacred has become commodity. When Gd was on the ocean, and Gd was on the moor, Then I could talk directly with the trees and creatures, But I found the opposite now in every town I know Everyone’s ignoring Mother Nature, And I found a merry-go-round in every town I go We ride a plastic horse into the the future! A circle has been broken, a wolf is at the door; The sacred has become commodity. When Gd was on the ocean, and Gd was on the moor, Then I could talk directly with the trees and creatures, But I found the opposite now in every town I know Everyone’s ignoring Mother Nature, And I found a merry-go-round in every town I go They ride a plastic horse into the the future! We ride a merry-go-round now We ride on a merry-go-round and We rise at the morning light, and ’til black of night, we ride on their carousel
2.	A Tinker's Heart 03:48	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS I’ll wait for you by the Tinkers’ Heart Beneath a frosty moon and the twinkling stars There’ll be Rosy Lea that I shall brew And I shall see a fire is lit for you My family you are my glue The reason why my tinker’s heart is true There’s men of stone and of evil brain Who’ll treat you as a pawn within their game But you are free and life is true When you see the Tinkers’ Heart come into view It will mend your bleeding broken heart And you’ll see that all you need’s a horse and cart And a frosty moon, and the twinkling stars, So I shall wait for you at the Tinker’s Heart. So meet me soon at the Tinkers’ Heart Beneath a frosty moon and the twinkling stars There’ll be Rosy Lea that I shall brew And I shall see a fire is lit for you My family you are my glue The reason why my tinker’s heart is true
3.	Love-in-a-Mist 03:32	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS By the stars above the whispering trees I took shelter from the whistling breeze Thats when I met you, though you disagree Then you picked some love-in-a-mist for me you picked some love-in-a-mist for me you picked some love-in-a-mist for me You uncovered the mystery Of true love in the mist with me We were the lovers who kissed by the sea And you picked some love-in-a-mist for me Gather ye Moslem and Christian and Jew Where some love-in-mist once grew Were we not lovers? Pray tell me it’s true For I picked all the love-in-a-mist for you I picked all the love-in-mist for you. Back when the love-in a-mist once grew.
4.	Ol' Tom Pheasant 01:53	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS One December on a cold and frosty morning- I remember how the earth was frozen- Heard a cock pheasant calling out a startled warning. A pompous peasant, pretender to the throne! I remember riding out on a frosty morning One December by the fallen trees; And ol’ Tom Pheasant was announcing proud his warning “All ye peasants, doff your caps to me!” Down the Silk Roads where the pheasant went a-walking He found the hedgerows of the Kentish woodland. Round the old dirt roads where the peasants proudly stalk him That loud and bold bird wears an emerald hood!
5.	Lament for a Mermaid 02:31	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS In a land over yon where some folk I know are from Is a lough where a mermaid stays… But alas somethings wrong- In the place where she belongs Is a poison the people have made; In the Ford of the Cow, in the fields under ploughs In the waters the eels like to swim in, Poison flows all around- even down below the ground To the court of the Fairy king; By the hand of decay, and bureaucracy’s delay, And aristocrats who never do a thing, And the farmers all broke, who have found a way to cope- By their chemical fertilizing… So the death toll will rise ’til the last creature dies, And the mermaid will never swim again; So Make a mends, make a right, make a friend of her tonight, Or the mermaid’s time will end.
6.	The Rookeries 03:28	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS Blind Alice, oh my darling, pray that all your pain will melt away. Rag-picking’s really not a trade But it’ll do today… We live in abject poverty No luck or opportunities; Blind Alice surely you can see- we’re in the rookery. Here in the ‘Venice of the drains’ You’ll see Saint Giles or Petticoat lane. Rag-picking’s really not that well paid But there’s another trade… Blind Alice, oh for heaven’s sake, I know you know they’re on the make; But dear Alice you would never take, No you’d never take… So take a look; Look upon the slime beneath you !!! We sing our complicated song Coz when we sing, the pain is gone We are the filthy rotten scum And we all soldier on… These rookeries are all we’ve known We gather near, each one alone. We roost up here in treetop thrones And we call it home… Here from Saint Saviour’s TO THE DITCHES !!!
7.	Man of Oak 02:46	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS When I was cold I lost my way The sky was gold but my heaven was grey My friends the oaks, they like to say “To make more acorns we give them away” Like an oak tree, Like an oak tree, Like an oak tree, there’s a man, There’s a man, There’s a man like an oak, Like an oak, Like an oak, oh there’s a man. So when I am old one winter’s day I’ll make more acorns and give them away, Like an oak tree, like an oak tree, like an oak tree there’s a man, there’s a man, there’s a man like an oak, like an oak, like an oak oh there’s a man.
8.	Grumbling Donkey 02:19	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS Every day and every night I’ll be a-working ’til I die. Every day and every night I’ll be a-working ’til I die For I’m a beast of burden And I’m a working for the man And somewhere east of Eden I am bound- With a sinner man from the Garden Who can never go back again Now he’s a beast of burden in the town Every day and every night I’ll be a-working ’til I die… But when I was free, when I was free Nature was oh so cruel to me Now I’m a beast of burden And I’m a working for the man And somewhere east of Eden I am bound Like a sinner man from the Garden Who is never to ever return, And I can feel the burden weighing me down But when I was free, when I was free Nature was oh so cruel to me… Now I’m in a harness, I’m in a harness They tethered me and tied me to a harness For I’m a beast of burden And I’m a working for the man And somewhere east of eden I am bound With a sinner man from the Garden Who can never go back again So we are both a beast of burden now.
9.	Animal Fair 01:36	lyrics	buy track
LYRICS I went to the animal fair The birds and the beasts were there The big baboon by the light of the moon Was combing her auburn hair The monkey fell out of his bunk And slid down the elephants trunk The elephant sneezed and fell to her knees But what became of the monkey monkey monkey monkey Monkey monkey monk? Oh I went to the animal fair The birds and the beasts were there The big baboon by the light of the moon Was combing his auburn hair The monkey fell out of his bunk And slid down the elephants trunk The elephant sneezed and fell to her knees But what became of the monkey monkey monkey monkey Monkey monkey monk?

credits

released January 14, 2024

I received a guitar from an anonymous donor for my 42nd birthday, and to whoever sent me such a mysterious and wonderful gift, which very much led to this album being written, great thanks are due indeed.

All music played, recorded, produced and written* by
Roo:
nylon string guitar, banjo, melodica, voice, (and piano on one song)

*song 9 was written by an anonymous somebody, it was heard in ports in north america in the late 1800s and came to me via my mother singing it to me when i was younger.

The issue of the eutrophication of Lough Neagh, raised in song 5 ('Lament for a mermaid') is resolvable if enough people get involved proactively.
I am not so sure about some of the issues raised in the other songs.

There is a very brief quote from Charles Dickens' novel 'Oliver Twist' in the song 'The Rookeries' (i.e. 'look upon the slime beneath' ) because the song is also about that area of London.

Artwork by Roo

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about

Roo England, UK

Roo writes and records his own songs. (and sometimes records old traditional songs).
Also, see Roo's painting and sculpture folio, online on his tumblr