The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #120309   Message #2615283
Posted By: MattieE
20-Apr-09 - 09:22 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Black '47 song- who has recorded it?
Subject: Origins: Black '47 song- who has recorded it?
Hello! I am looking for a recording of the song "Black '47". I think there is more than one song out there by this name, but I am looking for this one:

    Everything is still
    Not a chicken not a body
    Just an awful sickenin' silence roarin' in my ears
    And the fog of death deepens and lies upon the land
    An ould wan rolls over on her back
    The grass stains all green upon her chin
    I can still hear her keenin' and screamin' in the wind

    God's curse upon you Lord John Russell
    May your blackhearted soul rot in hell
    There's no love left on earth
    And god is dead in heaven
    In the dark and deadly days of Black 47

    God's curse upon you Lord Trevalian
    May your great Queen Victoria rot in hell
    'Til England and its Empire
    Answer before heaven
    For the crimes they committed in Black 47

    Paudie says "c'mon now
    Don't look back, she's not livin', she's a phantom
    And she'll curse us if we look into her eyes"
    Oh God, I must be dyin' - the fever's in me brain
    For can't you see that pack of children up ahead
    The beards of old men sproutin' from their chins
    Can't you hear their screams of hunger on the wind

    Oh darlin' Paudie save me
    I think I'm sinkin' fast, me blood is boilin'
    Don't let me die here in a ditch
    If the hunger doesn't get me - the fever surely will
    So Paudie picked me up and threw me 'cross his shoulders
    He nursed me everyday 'til we reached Amerikay
    Screamin' and shoutin' like a madman at the wind-Black47

Thanks,
Mattie