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Let England Shake Lyrics
The West's asleep. Let England shake,
weighted down with silent dead.
I fear our blood won't rise again.
England's dancing days are done.
Another day, Bobby, for you to come home
& tell me indifference won.
Smile, smile Bobby, with your lovely mouth.
Pack up your troubles, let's head out
to the fountain of death
& splash about, swim back and forth
& laugh out loud,
until the day is ending,
& the birds are silent in the branches,
& the insects are courting in the bushes,
& by the shores of lovely lakes
heavy stones are falling.
weighted down with silent dead.
I fear our blood won't rise again.
Another day, Bobby, for you to come home
& tell me indifference won.
Pack up your troubles, let's head out
to the fountain of death
& splash about, swim back and forth
& laugh out loud,
& the birds are silent in the branches,
& the insects are courting in the bushes,
& by the shores of lovely lakes
heavy stones are falling.
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Memorial of Anzac Cove, commemorating the loss of thousands of Ottoman and Anzac soldiers in Gallipoli. Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well. – Atatürk 1934
Well bobby is British slang for police, so could be construed as meaning our penchant for playing policeman of the world. Definitely makes sense in the context of the rest of the song.
Apparently PJH started writing this album way back in 2007, so I'm sure that it has nothing to do with this except that she's commenting about violence and politics in general, but I'll always remember that I bought this album a couple of weeks before the london riots.
Who's Bobby?
Robert Mugabe?
Robert Mugabe?
The more i think about this, the more i think it must be Bobby Sands.
The more i think about this, the more i think it must be Bobby Sands.
The line "The Wests asleep" references an Irish rebellion poem, and indeed the title Let England Shake is a variation of the the line Let England Quake in that poem.
The line "The Wests asleep" references an Irish rebellion poem, and indeed the title Let England Shake is a variation of the the line Let England Quake in that poem.
The reference to the lovely mouth must be to the 1981 hunger strikes. Pack up your "troubles".
The reference to the lovely mouth must be to the 1981 hunger strikes. Pack up your "troubles".
Finally, and this might be stretching it a little, but a famous Bobby Sands quote is "Our revenge will be the laughter or our children" so I wonder if that's why that line about laughing...
Finally, and this might be stretching it a little, but a famous Bobby Sands quote is "Our revenge will be the laughter or our children" so I wonder if that's why that line about laughing is there.
But I'm not sure exactly where the imagery of the Fountain of Death is coming from, I suppose it's just as an opposite to the Fountain of Life. A very unsettling image comes to mind of blood rather than water in a fountain for me.
oh or bobby sands?
Memorial of Anzac Cove, commemorating the loss of thousands of Ottoman and Anzac soldiers in Gallipoli. Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they...
Memorial of Anzac Cove, commemorating the loss of thousands of Ottoman and Anzac soldiers in Gallipoli. Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well. – Atatürk 1934
Death's Debt is Paid in Full
Death's debt is then and there Paid down by dying men; But it is a promise bare That they shall rise again