the ballad of hawkwood

An old traditional tune I learnt from Rachael Dadd called ‘Two Sisters’ set to new words of my own.

Written about the Hawkwood nursery run by my friends at Organiclea.

There is a fine gent christened Ru Litherland
Mulch, sow and then reap
There is a fine gent christened Ru Litherland
And he has green fingers on both of his hands
I’ll be good to the land and the land will be good to me

With the vicar’s fine daughter he dreamed a bold dream
To grow food for his kinsmen as nature decreed.

By the edge the forest they spied a fair patch
And to grow fruit and veg there a plan they did hatch.

The men of the hour dreamed of buildings not plants
A development would far more there profits enhance.

Our forefathers fought for this fair forest land
So now against the law was the businessman’s plan.

After two years had past did the council relent
So now we’ll work the earth as our forefathers meant.

Now if you past by here you may hear a tune:
Mulch, sow and then reap
Now if you past by here you may hear a tune,
The melody is old and the words will be soon.
I’ll be good to the land and the land will be good to me

One Reply to “the ballad of hawkwood”

  1. I heard your music for the first time tonight on Magnatune, listened to Only The Missile and Strangers With Shoes several times (thankyou magnatune!) and because I don’t have a means of paying I couldn’t buy your albums so I’ve done the next best thing and emailed all my friends, some of whom are owners of small pieces of plastic.
    Here in NZ the govt is about to open up our World Heritage Sites to mining so your Ballad Of Hawkwood touches a note of solidarity. Let’s hope that our grey suits relent!
    By the way, the album cover from Only The Missile is brilliant, very funny.
    Thank you for sharing your music.

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