Wat Tyler (Live: The Follow-On; Saturday 9.8.97)

歌詞

And on the field at Blackheath Us commons covered the earth More men than ever I did see Poor honest men from birth The men were up from Kent, and out of Essex too Though naught but the Thames divides us and unites us onwards Through all the villages of England and on to London town Where we poor men would meet our king and lay our grievance down Wat Tyler led us men from Kent, rough hands were shaken there King Richard and the commons our bold resolve and prayer We knew our king would hear us, our loyalty was clear T'was the bloody lawyers' poll tax that had brought us labourers here And yet he wouldn't see us, so to London we did roar And the poor there and the Essex men burst down the prison door What happened at the Tower was justice, rough in part The murders of the Flemish boys sat uneasy in my heart "And now the king must see us" said Tyler to his men And the very next day young Richard came and met us at Mile End And on the field at Blackheath Us commons covered the earth More men than ever I did see Poor honest men from birth Kent and Essex, Bedford, Sussex received King Richard's word No harm nor blame would come to them if home they would return And Lincoln, Cambridge, Stafford too received our young king's favour And thirty thousand left us there, believing it was over But Tyler, he was not convinced and told us to remain "I want to hear his words again, for nothing much has changed" So Tyler, he approached the king and took Richard by the arm And his rough but friendly gesture caused Richard's knights alarm "Ah my lord " said Tyler, "companions we shall be" "I shall trust in you my lord, if you will trust in me" And so he called for water, and then he called for ale And his manner shocked young Richard's knights and I watched the Lord Mayor pale "I know this man" a voice accused, "Wat Tyler is a thief" The Lord Mayor feared he'd harm the king, that was his true belief And there at Smithfield drew his sword, and cut our captain down And the heart went out of all of us with his blood upon the ground And on the field at Blackheath Us commons covered the earth More men than ever I did see Poor honest men from birth Young Richard, he was merciful and he pardoned one and all But home to Kent like beaten dogs, still serfs we had to crawl But how precious was our liberty and the hope that filled us all That left poor Tyler's severed head upon a bloody pole