Joe, the lyrics I got off the recording by Tracey-Munro-Tracey differ in several small ways from what you have posted. Which version is closer to what Stuart Marson wrote, I cannot say. Too Close To The Wind Stuart Marson As recorded by Tracey-Munro-Tracey Farewell to you, my faithful Nancy Ten thousand times adieu; For the constable has come up from Brackley Market And a hundred volunteers too. No more need we hide in the forest For fear they might run us to ground And the wild sea, we sailed upon it Too close to the wind. For fifteen years, we have roamed the highways Of Northamptonshire. From Daventry* down to the southern byways We've robbed both the rich and the poor. For ofttimes our families were starving And the highway it kept us alive, And the wild sea, we sailed upon it Too close to the wind. And now I lie in a darkened dungeon Condemned on the gallows to die, While the man who gave us away is only Bound for Australia. No man could be found to defend us And naught but abuse came our way, And the wild sea, we sailed upon it Too close to the wind. Now the clouds they rise over Northampton market, And the people all come into town, And the crowds will walk through the streets until sunset, When the hangman cuts us down. And fifteen children of Culworth Their fathers are taken away, And the wild sea we sailed upon it Too close to the wind.
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