Sunday 7 June 2009

The Diggers song

Never forget the roots (no pun intended) of allotmenting. I often sing the Diggers' Song to remind me of the great tradition I'm following. These are the lyrics used by the great Chumbawamba from the album English rebel Songs.

You noble diggers all stand up now, stand up now 
You noble diggers all stand up now 
The wasteland to maintain sin (?) cavaliers by name 
Your digging does maintain and persons all defame 
Stand up now, stand up now 
Your houses they pull down stand up now, stand up now 
Your houses they pull down, stand up now 
Your houses they pull down to fright your men in town 
But the gentry must come down and the poor shall wear the crown 
Stand up now diggers all 
With spades and hoes and plows stand up now, stand up now 
With spades and hoes and plows, stand up now 
Your freedom to uphold sin (?) cavaliers are bold 
To kill you if they could and rights from you to hold 
Stand up now diggers all 
The gentry are all round stand up now, stand up now 
The gentry are all round stand up now 
The gentry are all round on each side the are found 
Their wisdom so profound to cheat us of our ground 
Stand up now stand up now 
The lawyers they conjoin stand up now stand up now 
The lawyers they conjoin stand up now 
To rescue they advise, such fury they devise, the devil in them lies 
And hath blinded both their eyes 
Stand up now, stand up now 
The clergy they come in stand up now, stand up now 
The clergy they come in stand up now 
The clergy they come in and say it is a sin 
That we should now begin our freedom for to win 
Stand up now diggers all 
'Gainst lawyers and 'gainst priests stand up now stand up now 
'Gainst lawyers and 'gainst priests stand up now 
For tyrants they are both, even flat against their oath 
To grant us they are loathe free meat and drink and cloth 
Stand up now diggers all 
The club is all their law, stand up now stand up now 
The club is all their law, stand up now 
The club is all their law, to keep all men in awe 
That they no vision saw to maintain such a law 
Stand up now diggers all 

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