Doin' The Rope Walk Tangle

from A Derelict Chorale by Chris Thorpe-Tracey

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about

‘Doin’ The Rope-Walk Tangle’
A loose choral shanty for the rope-walks and rope-making trade that shaped the early layout of those warehouses and buildings along Hastings seafront, forming a key part of the development of the America Ground.

lyrics

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

credits

from A Derelict Chorale, released May 21, 2020

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MSL Hastings Hastings, UK

mslprojects.co.uk

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