1. |
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The Murder Of Captain Aldridge Cm HARPS + ORGAN
On the night of April 23rd a good strong wind prevailing
Our captain set us out to sea, a perfect night for sailing
The Frenchies had some booze to sell we knew just where they hid
So we took her round the headland east but even as we did
A customs boat all slick and new comes flying round the cliff
The brand new ship they call The Leopard, dark as she was swift
We pushed her off and we fought her men with fist and bottle and knife
Til one of them bastards shot our Captain, made a widow of his wife
Well they put him in the ground at All Saints Church
And a crowd of people came
Alongside the grieving family an anger grows the same
There’s fury at the rich man’s court where nothing good is done
And fury at the customs man – so quick to shoot his guns
Wilful murder, that it was, said the warden of the church
He shows us all where he’s written it down In the All Saints register
Men like Edward Aldridge are the lifeblood of this town
They brand a good man a criminal smash his boat and shoot him down
Take our boys for Boney’s war, give our town to Wellesley’s army
But if bread cost more than a man can afford there int no honest work for me
You ain’t no bloody Napoleon, you ain’t no Mad King George
Let the word ring out across the Priory fields, we ain’t gonna give you any more
Captain Aldridge was the best of men, now his boat lies dead as he
The hull was split on Hastings sand and left for all to see
The customs man controls our trade with guns and bribery
They have the run of the hangman’s noose for good men caught at sea
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2. |
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The Rise Of The America Ground
1
Dragged up high, far from the waves
A half hull on the shore
The wreck of the Polymina lay
Rotting forever more
But on a fine spring day, 1805
Here’s Thomas Page and Jonny Prior
Made the Polymina their new home
Straw beds and an open fire
2
Johnny would learn the brewer’s trade
Tom would be a rope man
They'd live here more than 20 years
And see an empire grow up about them
In this no man’s land of the Priory Valley
Outside the Corporation
Up sprang the lodgings, sheds and alleys
Of an independent nation
3
Then after the Battle of Waterloo
When the war with the French was won
Hastings dreamed of a posh resort
For London’s wealth to come
But when the rich come visiting
You need the poor to do the work
And they’re gonna find them a place to dwell
And squalid holes to lurk
4
Down came Mark and Thomas Breeds
Their fortune had been sealed
By late December 1815
They’d bought the Priory Field
So now they’re big men around these parts
With a hand in every trade
Outside the law of the Corporation
There’s profit to be made
5
From lodging house and gin soaked den
From the valley to the shore
Hastings looks on horrified
As we fill up with the poor
There’s Frenchmen anchored by the beach
With food and booze to sell
There’s free trade smugglers after dark
Drunk on the tales they tell
Or the day when two men fought so hard
They tore down both their houses
And even Byron walks on down
Goes home without his trousers
6
By ’22 a thousand souls
Lived on the edge of the law
Now Townsfolk calls them ‘Americans’
From the war 30 years before
The insult lingers in the memory
That flag is still taboo
And so we got the name The America Ground
In 1822
7
By February 1824
The whole town held a meeting
To call for watchmen to stand guard
and give these scum a beating
They hired nine men, all brutal thugs,
paid by for by donations
But all they did was brought more grift
To the independent nation
8
After the riots on Christmas Day
The leaders had enough
These people don’t pay tithe or rent
And they’re always causing fuss
Too much noise and fights and stink
Too many darkened corners
The Corporation tells the Crown
And nobody will warn us
9
They found a way to bring us down
As every empire falls
The Corporation tells the Crown
And begs them change the law
Just as quick as we grew fat
Our time will come much leaner
But still Tom Page and old John Prior
In the wreck of the Polymina.
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3. |
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Doin'
The Rope-Walk Tangle
1
The Rope man lays his weaving line
End to end, for the strongest twine
Fill us a warehouse in good time //
Doin’ the ropewalk tangle
2
Way down here where the river flowed
Lay down a path, then an alley, then a road
The knots are tied, the money is owed
Doin’ the ropewalk tangle
CHORUS
Ab 8 over 3 and-a 7 over 1
Eb Weave those threads til your rope is done // til your back is gone
Bb But don’t you step on the fibres, son
Doin’ the rope-walk tangle
3
It’s in your eyes and it’s in your hair
Hemp dust burns in the open air
Run to the far end if you dare
Doin’ the ropewalk tangle
4
Because end to end it’s half a mile
Run that alley in a single file
Twist the fibres in the Spanish style
Doin’ the rope-walk tangle
CHORUS
Ab 8 over 3 and-a 7 over 1
Eb Weave those threads til your rope is done // til your back is gone
Bb But don’t you step on the fibres, son
Doin’ the rope-walk tangle
5
When you’re done, then you roll that cord
To get your money at the boatman’s door
The Bowmer boys give a penny or more for
Doin’ the rope-walk tangle
6 (QUIET)
Sir, it’s worth more – and you hold out your cap
Tom, tell your master his weave is slack
And old John Gallop won’t pay for that,
Doin’ the rope-walk tangle
CHORUS
Ab 8 over 3 and-a 7 over 1
Eb Weave those threads til your rope is done // til your back is gone
Bb But don’t you step on the fibres, son
Doin’ the rope-walk tangle
Rope comes back from years at sea
And it’s up to poor house if you please
Picked apart by those poor ladies
They’re doin’ The Rope Walk tangle
Even when the rope’s long died
We’ll still be following these same old lines
A scar on the land til the end of time
Doing the rope-walk tangle
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4. |
On Cuckoo Hill
03:11
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On Cuckoo Hill 85bpm / in C, small choral group tells the story
Lad came running through the windy night
Joe, you’d best come now!
He’s shouting the street awake, says the wife – her voice?
Sir, the Windmill’s down – young lad’s voice?
That’s twice in less than 10 years
A storm’s rolled in this hard
It's blowing a gale up Cuckoo Hill
And it’s torn the mill apart
F - Am - You can see all of everything – older male voice?
Am - G - F - In the grinding of the wheat
Am - G - F - In the baking of bread
G - C Mr Carswell said – choir
More than meat or even beer – older male voice?
You’ll find the whole world hiding here
In the baking of bread
Mr Carswell said – choir
On Cuckoo Hill
With prices rising
We all fall down
If there’s no bread
Mr Carswell said
The Priory Mill was in the family
Joe inherited it from his mother
And he swore he’d run it evenly
Even when the times got tougher
An honest miller Carswell was
He had a golden thumb
Sold honest flour since the ‘70s
But that storm had him done
It took his windmill by the joints
Like a ship, tore the sails to bits
Now he’s crying like a child in the pouring rain
Down now on his knees in the sheep shit
F - Am - You can see all of everything
Am - G - F - In the grinding of the wheat
Am - G - F - In the baking of bread
G - C Mr Carswell said
More than meat or even beer
You’ll find the whole world hiding here
In the baking of bread
Mr Carswell said
F On Cuckoo Hill
Am With prices rising
G We all fall down
F If there’s no bread
C Mr Carswell said
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5. |
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Eight Acres (6th December, 1827)
Am, 4/4, 70bpm, solo vocal, piano or solo accompanying instrument
if there are characters, this is the voice of power / the voice of the Crown (gentle but menacing)
1
Today
Let it be known
An enquiry
Held by the Crown
For eight acres
And who will own
That same land
On which you settled down
Was held in Battle,
Above the George
Far too far to go, for you
To plead your cause
2
Besides the Crown
Four parties called it theirs
We say it’s Royal land
They claim a share
One holds the castle (/ Lord Chichester)
One holds the farm (/ Lord Cornwallis)
Hastings Corporation is a third
And then Sir Godfrey chanced his arm
Two hundred buildings
A thousand souls
But in that room above the George
We took control
We are the judge and jury
We are the law
We find in favour
Of ourselves, of course, who we award
CHORUS
And so now you
Are squatters, all
So now you
Are squatters, all
So now you
Are squatters, all
3
Today
Let it be known
If none can prove
Claims of your own
We will display
Broad arrow symbols here
On these buildings
On these walls and windows til you disappear
4
We are not cruel
We’ll give you time
Until midsummer’s day
Of 1835
5
You may be rebel
You may be none
You may stand beside the men
They call Americans
Beside the dirty flag men
Beside the scum
Once we heard the stories
Your time was done
CHORUS
Now you will pay your toll
And then begone
Now you will pay your toll
And then begone
Now you will pay your toll
The Crown has won.
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6. |
The Battling Breeds
03:23
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The Battling Breeds Cm, 4/4, 105bpm, choir / small group, characters, percussion, acc
CHORUS
Don’t get caught
Taking the piss
Out of the battling Breeds
They’re the only men
With wealth enough
To hold a paper lease
Someday you may need their help
For a job or a loan at least
So don’t get caught
Taking the mickey
Out of the battling Breeds
VERSE 1
Thomas and Mark made their start
Selling to the building trade
One’s a firebrand, one’s a schemer
Soon their cash was made
In 1810 young Thomas Breeds
Takes on the Corporation
He proves to the court that they had stolen
Charity donations
Corruption ruined a local school
Thomas got it mended
And after that, for the Hastings mob
The brothers were Unfriended
But The family Breeds had done so well
Their fortune soon was sealed
For Christmas 1815
They bought the Priory Field
Mark Breeds built a hotel there
With houses both sides planned
Investors had a bidding war
And they gave him 16 grand
Then they got into breweries
Ran coaches everywhere
The beautiful street was near complete
So they called it Wellington Square
CHORUS
Don’t get caught
Taking the piss
Out of the battling Breeds
They’re the only men
With wealth enough
To hold a paper lease
Someday you may need their help
For a job or a loan at least
So don’t get caught
Taking the michael
Out of the battling Breeds
VERSE 3
After that – and we don’t know why
The brothers’ friendship ended
Even with the wealth and fame
Never was it mended
They feuded loud for many a year
Had a punch up in the street
Got hauled up by the Local court
Paid fines to keep them sweet
“I never want to see his face again”
Mark was heard to mutter
If he comes near, Thomas shouts
I’ll kick him in the gutter
QUIET PUNCHLINE VERSE
Now this was quite a problem, since
For years they’d lived next door
They used to treat both homes as one
Now they built a 10 foot wall
CHORUS
So Don’t get caught
Taking the piss
Out of the battling Breeds
They’re the only men
With wealth enough
To hold a paper lease
Someday you may need their help
For a job or a loan at least
So don’t get caught
Taking the mickey
Out of the battling Breeds
FINAL VERSE
Some day many years from now
When we’re long dead and buried
There’ll still be Breeds in Hastings town
So don’t go making merry
Don’t you write no history
Don’t sing it in a bloody song
Cos if Breeds are sitting on a beer barrel throne
Your great great great great grandchildren
Will pay if you did them wrong.
LONG CHORUS
NO, Don’t get caught
Taking the piss
Out of the battling Breeds
They’re the only men
With wealth enough
To hold a paper lease
Someday you may need their help
For a job or a room or a loan or a ride at least…
So don’t get caught
No loose talk
No loose chatter
of men who matter
No, don’t get caught
Behind your sleeve
Laughing at those crazy battling Breeds
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7. |
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Party In The Priory Meadow (19th July, 1832)
130bpm no key (or F# pedal) – chanted/shouted
tom drums / side drums percussion and choir
The reform bill passed
The reform bill passed
1832
1832
Corruption overturned
Corruption overturned
And how the Tories lose
And how the Tories lose
All evidence gone
All evidence gone
All papers burnt
All papers burnt
When the power changed hands
When the power changed hands
Still the rich carry on
Still the rich carry on
When the barns burn down
When the barns burn down
Blame it on the poor
Blame it on the poor
We know the truth
We know the truth
They hid their crimes
They hid their crimes
For a decade or more
For a decade or more
Still the people threw
Still the people threw
A party in the field
A party in the field
With a banquet feast
With a banquet feast
Let the Americans come
Let the Americans come
From the bottom of town
From the bottom of town
Room for everyone
Room for everyone
Tonight at least
Tonight at least
Let them raise their flag
Let them raise their flag
They’re a part of us now
They’re a part of us now
So the Americans come
So the Americans come
They cross the stream
They cross the stream
Here with everyone
Here with everyone
One night for free
One night for free
Dance through til dawn
Dance through til dawn
Come one and all!
Come one and all!
When the kissing’s done
When the kissing’s done
We celebrate too soon
We celebrate too soon
Only two years gone
Only two years gone
1834
1834
Come the new Poor Law
Come the new Poor Law
Come the workhouse now
Come the workhouse now
Come Victoria’s ruin
Come Victoria’s ruin
Those wealthy few
Those wealthy few
They always knew
They always knew
What they were they doing
What they were they doing
What they were they doing
What they were they doing
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8. |
Four Eagles
03:54
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FOUR EAGLES Cm, 4/4, 139bpm, chords and percussion, solo and choir
CHORUS (CHOIR)
There are four eagles
High above the cliff
Soaring spirals in the sky
And so we live
V1 & 2 (SOLO – A SAILOR/CUSTOMS MAN SINGS)
Today four sailors drowned
Who set to shore
Customs men on the Camilla
Since the war
six men in all
Went in the sea
But only two survived
And one was me
My soul was rescued
By a smuggler
Though I’ve fought and I’ve arrested
Many others
His name was Beachen
So no more I
Will give my labour, that I swear
To the Excise
CHORUS (CHOIR)
There are four eagles
High above the hill
Soaring spirals in the sky
A sign of ill
V3 & 4 (CHOIR)
Princess Victoria
Stares at the sea
She’s here for Christmas,
She’s just 15
But then six coastguards
Right there capsize
She sees them drowning
With her own eyes
Trying to rescue
A boat from Rye
A sinking collier
She stood and watched them die
Just two years later
She rules us all
A callous mother
She watched them fall
CHORUS
And then four eagles
They dive for prey
But only three great eagles
Rise again
V5 & 6 (SOLO VOICE AGAIN)
They built a watch house
For navy men
To bring the free trade
To a bloody end
Well good luck to them
It’s not for me
I owe a smuggler
For his bravery
CHORUS (CHOIR)
There are four eagles
High above the cliff
Soaring spirals in the sky
And so we live
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9. |
Unholy Trinity
04:09
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Unholy Trinity in G, 120bpm, vocal, choir, thud, piano, flute organ/solo instr
V1
All of human life is here
In the service of the pigs and the beer
In the service of the rope line laid
The London coach and the night-time trade
All of human life is there
In the service of the landlord’s stare
The night fisherman and drunken priest
Sir, give me something to eat at least
CHORUS
Look what they’ve put in me
Between the men and the dirt and the sea
Unholy trinity – yeah, I know
V2
All of human scorn laid down
At the feet of the America Ground
From the gentlefolk, parishioners all
Still, they cross the stream when darkness falls
So here all of human life you’ll find
Leave your piety and wife behind
Cross the Priory for gin and ale
And witness all of human pain for sale
CHORUS x2 (second one high up)
Look what they’ve put in me
Between the men and the dirt and the sea
Unholy trinity – mix them up and let em go
Look what they’ve put in me
Between the men and the dirt and the sea
Unholy trinity – yeah I know
V3
All of human failure too
Abandoned children and the horse for glue
If a man here will ever succeed
He’ll do it cambering on others’ needs
All of human life is now
The gin palace and the poisoned sow
The dirty hands of the nightwatch men
Who called you sweetheart but it’s all pretend
CHORUS
Look what they’ve put in me
Dirt and men and sea
Unholy trinity – yeah I know.
HIGH END CODA CHORUS
x2 And if they rise it’ll cost you – and if they don’t it’ll cost you
And if they die it’ll cost you more
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10. |
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Eviction 4/4, Eb, 90bpm
Well they’d blown up the white rock headland side by the end of ’34
Then they dug out a brand new coastal road, ran it right through Anne’s front door
They started running four-horse buses across town several times a day
Nobody needs an old ropemaker when the world turns a different way
In October there was a heavy old storm hand in hand with a twelve foot tide
When it took down twenty four seafront homes, we took it as a sign
As the navy beat down the free trade, the fisherman’s life got worse
More and more good men came home dead and the empty shed was a curse
CHORUS
So it’s not an eviction
Not like what I imagined, anyhow
More like a river redirected
And we all flow down and down
One by one warehouses closed and the alley lost the night-time scene
Down where we used to drink and sing, it turned back into an in-between
I don’t know where Tom Page and John Prior went in that summer of ’35
But the new Poor Law was a devil, so maybe in the workhouse if they survived
We moved down the coast to St Leonard’s, to work on Mr Burton’s town
We took our buildings on our backs, put ‘em back up on his new ground
Everything I owned in a wooden cart, dragged by the kids and wife
Burnt that flag we’d carried so high, left The America Ground behind
CHORUS
So it’s not an eviction
Not like what I imagined, anyhow
More like a river redirected
And we all flow down and down
Now I walked down there yesterday – it’s been a whole ten years
Still empty and abandoned as that day we all got cleared
No, they never even used the land for nothing, left it all alone
I heard some people calling it the desert, but it used to be home.
CHORUS
So it’s not an eviction
Not like what I imagined, anyhow
More like a river redirected
And we all flow down and down
So it’s not an eviction
Not like what I imagined, anyway
More like a river redirected
And we all flow away
flow away
flow away
flow away
flow away
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