The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #57432 Message #903040
Posted By: Stewie
04-Mar-03 - 07:37 AM
Thread Name: ADD: Grey October(C.Parker/Critics Group/P.Seeger)
Subject: Lyr Add: GREY OCTOBER
I was surprised not to find this in the DT or forum. Powerful stuff!
GREY OCTOBER (1966) (C.Parker/Critics Group/P.Seeger)
Grey October in Glamorgan High pitheaps where the houses stand Fog in the valley, backshift ending Children awaken in Aberfan
Warm October in Thi Binh Province Huts of bamboo and rattan Sun comes up - repair gangs stop And children waken in Thuy Dan
Pithead hooter sounds from Merthyr Load the coal in the waiting trams Shoot the slag down the high pitheap While children eat in Aberfan
Ox carts rattle down Thi Binh Highway Work begins on the broken land Night's work ended, the roadway's mended Children eat in Thuy Dan
Dai Dan Evans grabs his satchel Michael Jones his bread and jam Five to nine and the school bell ringing Time for school in Aberfan
School bell ringing, children running Down by the river and across the dam Hot sun burning, time for learning Time for school in Thuy Dan
Lessons started in Pantglas Junior Through the fog a black wave ran Under the weight of the man-made mountain Children die in Aberfan
Lessons start in the Thi Binh schoolhouse And another day began Bombers fly in the morning sky And children die in Thuy Dan
Tears are shed for Glamorgan children And the world mourns Aberfan But who will weep for the murdered children Under the rubble of Thuy Dan?
Grey October in Glamorgan Warm October in Vietnam Where children die while we stand by And shake the killer by the hand
Source: lyric sheet accompanying Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger 'The Angry Muse' Argo LP ZDA 83 [1968].
Note to song: 'This song was created by 16 people. The idea for it was conceived by Charles Parker, a BBC producer. Over a period of 6 weeks the song was shaped and re-shaped by members of the Critics Group and the tune was set to it by Peggy Seeger'.