The cottagers reply Five hundred English pounds For this old house and a piece of ground, You and your wife have always planned To settle down in Cotswold land. Well you’d best come in, you’d best sit down It’s such a long drive from London town Would you like some tea now while I tell? The reasons why I will not sell. This stone built house that you call nice Was gained at far too high a price, For me to gaily sign away What others toiled for night and day. They hammered bluestone by the yard And they found the rent when times where hard, And they lived and died beneath the sun Tending the fields you’re gazing on. Well they’re all gone, but as for me The wild hare still runs as free, And at dusk the badger travels still Ancestral highways on the hill. I am as Cotswold bred as these And I still need these field and trees, And I need the soil that bore my race And holds their bones beneath this place. You say you’ll pay five hundred pounds For this old house and a piece of land, Well London’s about four hours for me But in your 4 x 4 you’ll do it in three. ‘The Cottagers Reply’, lyrics by the English folk musician Chris Wood adapted from an original poem by Frank Mansell (1918-1979)
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 23:13:45 +0000
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