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Sweet William (part 2) Lyrics

Will you put down your fiddle young Willie
Will you put down your fiddle and pray
That the world has begun with the birth of the sun
And its death the very same day

'Now kiss me young lover,' cried Maggie the glover
'We're a village of babes and I'm over the moon"
'Where's all your fellas, those young buck propellers,'
Cried Willie who swam in the room full of swoon

Will you put down your fiddle young Willie
Will you put down your fiddle and pray
That the world has begun with the birth of the sun
And its death the very same day

Still the fiddle blithely sung, its hornpipe playing
It's a Londonderry tune, long gone's the afternoon
We'll sing 'ever and more and ever will be'

The old men he'd seen, all cracked teeth with glee
Brought gold for the boy who could carry all time
For they in dear guardianship sailing and broken
Ship wizened and aged in pursuit of the wine

'It's not what I came for,' cried Will with disdain for
The din and the clamour of corsets undone
'Til a glimpse of perfection in Sally's reflection
In a mirror that carried her light like the sun

Will you put down your fiddle young Willie
Will you put down your fiddle and pray (put it down)
That the world has begun with the birth of the sun
And its death the very same day

With Will in the midst and no heat to desist
The gentrified stock who had seen all for naught
And laughed at the lad seeing all that he had
And whispered their praise to the soul of his sword

If Will had known better, he'd not have known better
And history's song would have ended with time
So it's lucky for learning that history's yearning
Is not in repeating but for something that rhymes

Will you pick up your fiddle young Willie (pick it up)
Will you pick up your fiddle and play
For the world has begun with the birth of the sun
And its death the very same day

Still the fiddle blithely sung, its hornpipe playing
It's a Londonderry tune, long gone's the afternoon
We'll sing 'ever and more and ever will be'
3 Meanings

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Cover art for Sweet William (part 2) lyrics by Johnny Flynn

I really got no idea what the first missing word could be, I coudn't find anything that sounds right... But the word missing in the fifth stanza is probably "mob"?!

I always thought the exclamation was "pray now" rather than "right know", but it could be both. I am unable to hear it clearly.

(There's a "put" to much in the last refrain.)

Lyric Correction

Where exactly is 'mob' to go?

Cover art for Sweet William (part 2) lyrics by Johnny Flynn

Just some corrections... though, naturally they're pure guess... I thought the missing word is "swoon" .. "cried willie who swam in a room full of swoon" ... in some way it makes sense, some very off way... and later, "'it's not what i came for' cried will with disdain for the din and the clamour of CORSETS undone" ... and the shout vocals are "put it down" and then "pick it up." I also think it's "still the fiddle blithely sung" I'm not listening to the song right now, so everything could by entirely wrong... The first verse after the first shout vocal, I hear "no heed to desist .... who had seen all for naught." There's a few other questionable lines/words, but I've not thought as to what they could be... Thanks for posting everything. It helps immensely.

Yes, it is definitely CORSETS undone. :) And the exclamations ARE indeed "pick it up" and "put it down" - I was in the crowd when he recorded those exclamations, so I can say that with 100% certainty.

Cover art for Sweet William (part 2) lyrics by Johnny Flynn

Oh, and here is the link to support my previous claims: Recording the audience in Seattle, WA for the exclamations in this song. It starts around 30 seconds. He's hilarious, by the way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQxCHnQQSmI

 
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