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Heavy Duty - Ballads of the Unfree

by Bill Lloyd

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1.
Ethan Allen 04:27
I was born upon a hillside Where the pines sing in the wind Where my Daddy lived before me And my Grandpa before him. We believe in simple living It's the only life we know All we need here is our freedom And a place to call our home. In the land of Ethan Allen Where the purple heather grows Where the wild grass fills the meadows And the rocky rivers flow By the hills that I call home I have travelled across the country And there is much that I have learned But I find no peace inside me Till the day that I return There are two things you can count on In this troubled world we face Every season has an ending Every person has a place. Chorus.
2.
Omie Wise 03:42
Omie Wise (Trad.) This is the Roscoe Holcombe version. Tell me no story, tell me no lies It’s tell me the story of little Omie Wise I’ll tell you no story, I’ll tell you no lies Just how she was deluded by John Lewis’s lies He promised to meet her at Adam's High Spring, Some money he would bring her and other fine things She flew like an eagle to Adam’s High Spring No money did he bring her nor other fine things No money, no money, my sweetheart said he But hop up behind me and married we will be. She hopped up behind him and away they did go Down by the river where the deep water flows John Lewis, John Lewis, I’m afraid of your ways I’m afraid that you will lead my poor body astray He beat her, he banged her, he knocked her around He threw her in the river where he knew that she would drown Two boys were a fishing all on the Sunday morn’ They found little Omie’s body down by the old Mill Pond They threw the nets around her, and dragged her to the bank They drew her from the water and laid her on a plank They sent for John Lewis to come to that place They set her up before him that he might know her face My name is John Lewis, my name I’ll not deny I killed my own lover, her name was Omie Wise
3.
Blackjack County Chain. I was sitting by the road in black-jack county, Not knowing that the Sheriff paid a bounty For men like me who hadn’t got a penny to their name And they locked my legs to 35 pounds of Blackjack County chain. All we had to eat was bread and water Each day we had to build a road a mile and a quarter And a black snake whip would cut the back of any man who complained But you can’t fight back wearing 35 pounds of Blackjack County chain. And then one night when the man was sleeping We all gathered round him slowly creeping And may God help me to forget that night in the cold cold rain We beat him to death with 35 pounds of Blackjack County chain. And now I am a free man and I am thankful I have nothing but the scars around my ankle But most of all I glad that a man will never again be a slave, To the black snake whip and 35 pounds of Blackjack County chain
4.
Annabelle 04:42
We lease twenty acres and one Ginny mule From the Alabama trust For half of the cotton and a third of the corn We get a handful of dust We cannot have all things to please us No matter how we try 'Til we've all gone to Jesus We can only wonder why I had a daughter, called her Annabelle She's the apple of my eye Tried to give her something like I never had Didn't want to ever hear her cry When I'm dead and buried I'll take a hard life of tears From every day I've ever known Anna's in the churchyard, she got no life at all She only got these words on a stone We lease twenty acres and one Ginny mule From the Alabama trust For half of the cotton and a third of the corn We get a handful of dust
5.
Little Satchel Under my bed you can set your little satchel And on my head come lay your little hand If you will be my own true lover And I will be your loving little man Run to the house and ask your papa If a bride of mine you'll ever be If he says no, come back and tell me And I will wait till you get free When you get free, we'll go get married Look how happy we will be And we can go to California Or any old place you want to go Or we can go to Louisiana, And settle down, and live at home. (Instrumental ½) (Instrumental 1) I wish I was a little angel And over these prison walls I would fly Fly on back to the arms of my darling Stay at home and there I will die As you can see I'm no little angel Neither have I wings to fly I'll go back all broken hearted Weep and mourn until I die Under my bed you can set your little satchel And on my head come lay your little hand If you will be my own true lover And I will be your loving little man
6.
Sometimes I don't know where This dirty road is taking me Sometimes I can't even see the reason why I guess I keep a-gamblin' Lots of booze and lots of ramblin' It's easier than just waitin' around to die Once I had a ma I even had a pa He hit her with a belt once 'cause she cried She said to him to take care of me Headed back to Ininsfree It was easier than just waitin' around to die I came of age and I found a girl In a Countu Cavan bar She cleaned me out and hit in on the sly I tried to kill the pain, bought some wine And jumped a plane, It was easier than just waitin' around to die A friend said he knew Where some easy money was We robbed a man, and brother did we fly The posse caught up with me And drug me back to Kilcogee Now it's two years waitin' around to die Now I'm out of prison I got me a friend at last He don't drink or steal or cheat or lie His name's Codine He's the finest thing I've seen Together we're just waiting around to die, Together we're just waiting around to die.
7.
Privateer 05:04
We ran molasses from Jamaica to the coast of Caroline Then we’d trade it for tobacco and we’d head home one more time But any ship low in the water that we’d meet along the way We would take with fire and murder, leave her burning in our wake The poor souls who went down with her would cry and scream in fear They would beg to us for mercy but they’d find no mercy here The colours on our main mast show allegiance to the King But the colours in our heart show we respect no living thing A white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night We made the port of Bristol; they ask no questions there Our goods were sold for profit giving every man his share Which we then gave to the taverns and the gamblers and the whores Before we staggered up the gangway to head to sea once more The merchants of this city like to think they’re civilised But tear away the attitude and take a look inside You’ll see the Devil’s mark upon the heart and soul and brain Of every merchant who takes profit from the blood of other men A white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night So we headed down to Africa with metal goods to trade For a cargo of Angolans who would to end their days as slaves We would sail them o’er the ocean; we would sail them into Hell Those who lived would reach Jamaica for the auctioneers to sell But the profits went to London and the homes of honest men Who believe that God is English and will always care for them So they go to church each Sunday to sing praises to his name But the Devil sits beside them knowing fine their souls are claimed By the white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night We ran Molasses from Jamaica to the coast of Caroline The we’d trade it for tobacco and we’d head home one more time Our gold would swell the coffers of those rich and famous men Who sit in London’s guildhalls – merchants, bankers, kings, Sitting proud beneath the banners made of gold and silver thread Bought with slavery and murder and the souls of countless dead But still we sail the ocean, sail it time and time again Beneath colours that condemn us in the eyes of honest men A white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night A white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night Instrumental (5th chorus) Extra verse 5 The story that I’ve told you was two hundred years ago But nothing much has changed since then you’d be surprised to know Halliburton and Dick Cheney, George Bush and Tony Blair They know full well the money that was made out over there, Sixty thousand cluster bombs, one hundred thousand dead And the bankers and the oilmen sleeping easy in their beds The flag that flies above them may be scarlet white and blue But whoever they were fighting for it wasn’t me and you, Just a white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as oil in the night. Just a white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as hell in the night. Just a white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night.
8.
Marie 04:35
Marie. I stood in line and left my name, Took about six hours or so The man just grinned like it was all a game, Said they’d let me know I put in my time till the opencast mine Shut down two years ago I was staying at the mission till I met Marie Now I can’t stay there no more Fella ’cross town said he’s lookin’ for a man, To move some old cars around Maybe me and Marie could find a burned-out van and do a little settlin’ down Aw, but I’m just dreamin’, I’ve got no ride, And the yard’s a fair long way, That job’s a few days old besides It’d be gone now anyway Jobcentre said they stopped my payments, And they showed me to the hall My brother died in Bristol little while ago, I got no one left to call Summer wasn’t bad below the bridge, A little short on food that’s all I got to get Marie some kind of coat We’re headed down into fall I used to play the fiddle pretty good, Busk up a little dough But I got drunk and I woke up rolled, A couple of months ago They got my fiddle and they got my coin, Them low life so and so’s Fiddles cost money and I ain’t got it It’s my own fault I suppose I can’t afford a train but I could always hitch a ride, I could easy get away tonight, If it was just me I’d be headed south, But Marie says it’s not right, She’s got some pain says she thinks it’s a baby, Says we gotta wait and see In my heart I know it’s a little boy, Hope he don’t end up like me Well, the man’s still grinnin’ says he lost my file, I gotta stand in line again I want to kill him but I just say no, I had enough of that, my friend Back to the bridge, it’s getting kinda cold, I’m feelin’ too bad to lie I guess I’ll just tell Marie the truth, Hope she don’t break down and cry Marie she didn’t wake up this morning She didn’t even try, She just rolled over and went to heaven, My little boy safe inside I laid them in the sun where somebody’d find them Hitched a lift out on the fly Marie will know I’m headed south So’s to meet me by and by Marie will know I’m headed south So to meet me by and by
9.
Billy Austin 07:13
Billy Austin Oh my name is Billy Austin, I'm 29 years old I was born in Oklahoma, 1/4 Cherokee I'm told I don't remember Oklahoma, it’s a long time since I've been home, Seems I've always been in prison, seems I've always been alone. I didn't mean to hurt nobody, never thought I'd cross that line I held up a filling station, like I'd done a hundred times. The kid did what I told him, he lay face down on the floor, And I'll never know what made me turn & walk back through that door. The shot rang out like thunder, and my ears rang like a bell, No-one came a running, so I called the cops myself They took their time to get there, and I guess I could have run, I knew I should feel something, but I never shed tear, one. I didn't read about it in the papers, cos I’d only killed one man, But my trial was over quickly, and the long hard road began. The court appointed lawyer couldn't look me in the eye He just stood up and closed his briefcase as they sentenced me to die. And now my wait is over, and the final hour drags by; I ain't about to tell you that I don't deserve to die. There's 27 men here, mostly brown or black or poor, And most of us are guilty, but who are you to say for sure. So when the preacher comes to get me, and they shave off all my hair, Could you take that long walk with me, knowing Hell is waiting there? Could you pull that switch yourself, sir, with a sure and steady hand? Could you still tell yourself Sir, that you’re a better man? Repeat 1st Verse.
10.
American Mythology We all want to be cowboys, sing cowboy songs, Want to walk six feet tall and have long horns on the wall Sing of the Alamo and the battle of Little Big Horn But Hollywood and Cinemascope, well I think they got it wrong Chorus: John Wayne was a wanker, Audie Murphy told lies, Wild Bill was over the hill, and Annie Oakley cried. The Indians died on the reservations and not on the battlefield, Its American mythology, and my dad thinks it real. Butch and Sundance never sang about raindrops in their heads Doc Holliday died coughing in his bed High Noon was just a time when they all used to get up Drag their sorry asses back to that whiskey cup The American Dream won’t make you rich, just ‘coz you work so hard, And the US Ain’t the land of the free - if you ain’t got a credit card. The American army won the Second World War, and the war in Vietnam And we are all created equal, unless you are a young black man. Mexicans are all bandits, and the bad guys all wear black, All the whores have hearts of gold, and the hero never looks back Partner please don’t tell me how the west was won. I ain’t smelt that much bullshit since them buffalo bin gone. We all want to be cowboys, sing cowboy songs, Want to walk six feet tall and have longhorns on the wall Sing of the Alamo and the Battle of Little Big Horn Hollywood and Cinemascope I think they got it wrong
11.
Rake 03:40
Well, I used to wake and run with the moon I lived like a rake and a young man I covered (courted) my lovers with flowers and wounds (words) my laughter the devil would frighten. The sun, she would come and beat me back down but every cruel day had its nightfall I'd welcome the stars with wine and guitars full of fire and forgetful My body was sharp, the dark air clean and outrage my joyful companion whisperin' women how sweet did they seem kneelin' for me to command them And time was like water but I was the sea I wouldn't have noticed it passing except for the turnin' of night into day and turnin' of day into cursin' You look at me now and don't think I don't know what all your eyes are a sayin' Does he want us to believe these ravings and lies they're just tricks that his brain's been a playin'? A lover of women he can't hardly stand he trembles he's bent and he's broken I've fallen it's true but I say unto you hold your tongues until after I've spoken I was takin' my pride in the pleasures I'd known I laughed and said I'd be forgiven but my laughter turned 'round eyes blazin' and said my friend, we're holding a wedding I buried my face but it spoke once again the night to the day we're a bindin' and now the dark air is like fire on my skin and even the moonlight is blinding
12.
Revolution 03:49
I come like a comet new born Like the sun that arises at morning, I come like the furious tempest That follows a thundercloud's warning, I come like the fiery lava From cloud-covered mountains volcanic, I come like a storm from the north That the oceans awake to in panic I come because tyranny planted My seed in the hot desert sand, I come because masters have kindled My fury with every command, I come because man cannot murder The life-giving seed in his veins, I come because liberty cannot Forever be fettered by chains I come because tyrants imagine That mankind is only their throne, I come because peace has been nourished By bullets and cannon alone, I come because one world is two And we face one another with rage, I come because guards have been posted To keep out the hope of the age From earliest times the oppressed have awaked me and called me to lead them, I guided them out of enslavement And brought them to high roads of freedom, I marched at the head of their legions And hailed a new world at its birth And now I shall march with the peoples Until they unfetter the earth And you, all you sanctified moneybags Bandits anointed and crowned, Your counterfeit towers of justice And ethics will crash to the ground, I'll send my good sword through your hearts That have drained the world's blood in their lust Smash all your crowns and your sceptres And trample them into the dust I'll rip off your rich purple garments And tear them to rags and to shreds, Never again will their glitter Be able to turn people's heads, At last your cold world will be robbed of it's proud hypocritical glow, For we shall dissolve it as surely As sunlight dissolves the deep snow. I'll tear down your cobweb morality Shatter the old chain of lies, Catch all your black-hooded preachers And choke them as though they were flies. I'll put a quick end to your heavens Your gods that are deaf to all prayer, Scatter your futile old spirits And clean up the earth and the air. And though you may choke me and shoot me And hang me your toil is in vain, No dungeon, no gallows can scare me Nor will I be frightened by pain. Each time I'll arise from the earth And break through all your weapons of doom, Until you are finished forever Until you are dust in the tomb
13.
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child… Sometimes I feel like a motherless child… Sometimes I feel like a motherless child… Sometimes I feel like a motherless child… A long way from home Sometimes I feel that we are almost gone Sometimes I feel like we are almost gone, Sometimes I feel like we are almost gone, A long, long way from home. I remember our mother, seems a long time ago, I remember our dear mother, seems a long time ago, Her rivers ran clear, we could watch the garden grow, Now we’re a long way from home. Now we can’t drink the water, the air it makes us choke, The ice caps are shrinking, and the forest up in smoke, Nuclear plant in melt-down, the currency is broke, We’re a long, long way from home. The garden turns to concrete, makes us corporation slaves, To the TV and the shopping mall, from the nursery to the grave, The war machine is hungry, eating up the brave, And we’re a long, long way from home… Sometimes I feel like a motherless child… Rpt. Verse 1
14.
Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing In the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched With faces hidden while the walls were tightening As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain Dissolved into the bells of the lightning Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsaked Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder That the ringing of the church bells blew far into the breeze Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind An' the poet and the painter beyond his rightful time An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flashed An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless,seeking trail For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale An' for each un-harmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
15.
Rough the winds in the clear day's dawning Blows the clouds heilster-gowdie o’er the bay But there's mair than a rough win blowing Through the Great Glen of the world today. It's a thought that would gar our rottans All they rogues that gang gallus, fresh an gay Take the road an seek other loanins For their ill-ploys to sport an play Nae mair will our bonnie callants March to war when our braggarts crousely craw Nor wee wains frae pithead an clachan Mourn the ships sailing down the Broomielaw Broken families in lands we've hairriet, Will curse 'Scotlan the Brave' nae mair, nae mair Black and white one-til-other mairriet Make the vile barracks o their masters bare So come all ye at home with freedom Never heed what the houdies croak for Doom In your house all the bairns of Adam Can find bread, barley-bree an painted room When MacLane meets wi' his friends in Springburn All they roses an geans will turn to blume An a black boy frae yont Nyanga Dings the fell gallows o’ the burghers down. ©Hamish Henderson

about

These are dark songs about the ‘land of the free’, but they are not anti -American songs. They are heavy duty ballads, often in minor keys, telling of war, grief,slavery, piracy, rape, murder, addiction, poverty, prison, execution, regret,resistance and revolution. Some are bright, some dark. They may be old songs, but they address current issues: gun control, capital punishment, racism and slavery, sexual harrassment, climate change and the destruction of the environment. Some are hopeful,some offer little hope, and some offer no hope at all.

For over 200 years, the USA has struggled to realise the 'self-evident truths' set out in the Declaration of Independence - the constitutional rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, equality under the law and respect for diversity. These rights become all the more relevant the more they are threatened. On both sides of the Atlantic progressive ideals now appear to be challenged by powerful forces: fundamentalism of many shades, global corporations, press and TV, and even the state itself, all of which once helped to guarantee those hard-won freedoms. 'Self-evident' truth has been an early casualty.

These songs, mostly written by Americans, show another side of the American Dream - compassionate but gritty, unflinching but sympathetic, provocative but informative, idealistic but grounded, and with the clear ring of truth.

In difficult times, most people want entertainment - up-tempo, optimistic, good time music, - and there are few opportunities to sing the tough, dark songs, but this album isintended to serve as a reminder of the ideals which made America great. These are tragic songs of pity and terror which, by highlighting injustice, become songs of anger and of hope. Every season has an ending. Hope dies last.

credits

released February 1, 2018

Bill Lloyd:
Vocals, banjo, tenor guitar, whistles, Galician pipes, uilleann pipes.

Jet Hazelton: Backing vocals, David Ellis: Piano.

The Wildwood Stringpullers: Fiddle, mandolin, guitars, accordion, harmonica, bass, drums.

Produced, programmed and arranged by Bill Lloyd

Mixed by David Ellis at Nosferatu. Mastered by Michael Fearon.

Some words have been altered to make songs more local and also more universal.

Lyrics are on Bandcamp. For chords, please contact Bill Lloyd.

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about

Bill Lloyd Kendal, UK

Bill Lloyd is a folk singer and multi-instrumentalist from the Lake District in northern England. He plays 5 string banjo and Galician gaita bagpipes, uilleann pipes and whistles, He is a versatile singer in the ‘high lonesome’ mountain style, delicate ballads, and ‘come-all-ye’ folk styles. Bill is an experienced storyteller, compere, music promoter, record producer and festival organiser. ... more

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