The Crown Of London - Scottish Covenanter's Song (V)

© 2000 Kris Drever from his album, Mark the Hard Earth; Song title: The Crown of London

My name is Jamie Penman, i'm a weaver by trade,
In the the town of Bigger, I was born and bread,
And me and Johnny Rankin, we marched to Bothwell Brig,
By faith and by our conscience, we were led,

Side by side, we stood against the Crown,
But the Covenanting flower, was cut down,
And with tears of frustration, in our eyes turned and fled,

5,000 Covenanters were chaffed, before a wind,
That roared upon us, from the fires of hell,
And Clavourhouse and Monmouth,, for pleasure maimed and killed,
And I saw things no man, should ever tell,

Ah not for me, a martyrs joy,
Only chains of shame, under heaven's eye,
In Greyfriars Kirkyard, to suffer its mocking bell,

And not for the first time I cried,
Angry in the face of my God,
But never a whisper in reply,

Onboard the Crown of London, there's a stinking fever hold,
And we were dragged roughly, crammed inside,
No food or any water, and hardly any air,
For 15 days we sweated, choked and cried,

We thought that ship, was satan's curse,
But when she set sail, it was ten times worse,
And no one gave a damn, if we lived or if we died,

We were bound for Jamaica, to be plantation slaves,
Far from those gentle hills, that held our homes,
But sailing up to Orkney, a black storm ripped the sky,
And on those jagged cliffs, the Crown was thrown,

The ship's crew scrambled, over the rocks,
But the wicked bastards, left the hatches locked,
And abandoned us to drown there, like rats beneath the foam,

And not for the first time i cried,
Angry in the face of my God,
But never a whisper in reply,

And we were being swallowed, by a vicious hungry sea,
The water blasted through, the timbers tore,
In panic and confusion, one hatch was broken wide,
And some of us were spat, towards the shore,

That water seemed so dark and cold,
But not so dark as the flooded hold,
For 200 men who will lie there evermore,

And not for the first time i cried,
Angry in the face of my God,
But this time, the Heaven's opened wide,
With the crash and the roar, of anger and pride,

And i turned from the deep, dragging my feet,
To search in the dark, for the road.