1. |
This England
03:53
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Credo in unum Deum,
Patrem omni potentem
Factorem coeli et terrae,
Visibilium omnium,
Et invisibilium
Amen
I love it here, although it hurts
I love this city though it cries
Cathedral spire it gives us hope beneath the darkening skies
The plague it plagues us, bishops rage
But bluebells grow here, they cheer my day
Apothecary mends us well - and prayer to God, they say
I love this England, though it hurts me
(Oh yes it hurts me)
I love this city, oh how it shines
The market hums, we’re European here, sir
We give them wool, they give us cheese and Flemish wine
The Kings and Lords hold all the power
Not so attuned to poor men's cries
The harbour lights they guide us home beneath the darkening skies
That Mr Chaucer tells his tales
He writes in English – would you believe!
And excrement flows right through the streets
It’s a mystery how we breathe!
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2. |
St. Agatha's Thigh
03:33
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P: This is the pardoner’s tale, humbly offered up for you (R: Hugh?)
So tireless in my work, I do what even God can’t do
For God he rages daily and hates the human kind
While I seek out the troubled soul and try to ease their mind
The Pardoner brings pardon, you’ll find us very nice
I offer sweet forgiveness - but only at a price
I scribble on my vellum and you walk free as air!
Freed also of your money, in which I humbly share
R: Welcome to Rick’s relics stall and thank God I’m here
This Norwich boy as welcome as duck-fat, bread and beer
The trouble with the faith thing - and no offence is meant
You can neither see nor touch it - which is why I’m heaven sent
St Agatha’s thigh, St Agatha’s thigh!
Oh me oh my, St Agatha’s thigh!
It’s for those who sigh, St Agatha’s thigh
You’ll want a relic, matey, a relic you can feel
Jacob’s sweaty jock-strap, St Peter’s holy heel
A thorn from Christ’s cruel crown – but no need to feel a P: Rick!..
Begone with you, and take your tat, or feel my whipping R: Stick -
It where the sun don’t shine, indulgences don’t work!
Trust the thigh of blessed Agatha, don’t listen to that P: Jerk -
The sin from your conscience, heave it up into the light
Your guilt is like a ghastly snake – R: The pardoner’s full of P: Shite –
Out loud how good you feel! How the pardoner’s your best bloke
How the relic seller’s breath kills dogs; his prices make you choke
R: St Agatha’s thigh, St Agatha’s thigh!
Oh me oh my, St Agatha’s thigh!
It’s for those who sigh, St Agatha’s P: Thy -
(Feigning humble prayer)
Way is not easy, Lord, we’re screwed at every turn
Without my kind indulgences, I so fear they’ll all burn
But the Lord and I forgive! We ease the common pain
And once your coins are in my bag, you can begin R: A gain -
Not loss but gain, my friend, with a relic you can feel
P: This is the pardoner’s tale, offered up for you
R: Some wood from Jesus’ manger, and honest-to-God it’s real
P: It’s really work that even God can’t do
R: And wrapped in a cloth which you could carry on a stick
P: You make me sick you’re such …….
(pause)
R: A thorn from Christ’s cruel crown – but no need to feel a
(Shouted by both, turning to each other) Prick!..
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3. |
One Day
03:31
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Have you heard that one day
Sweet river of justice, she’ll flow again
The hungry will never go hungry
There’s going to be such laughter down our lanes
Have you heard that one day
The eyes of all the blind shall see the dawn
Plagued bodies healed and whole again
The serfs are free, a new world born
Hook, line and sinker; they’ll struggle and fight
They’ll make a splash and a rattle will the Council of Fools
But hook, line and sinker, their time has run out
One day we’ll have hearts and not rules
Have you heard that one day
The cheats will all be throttled by their lies
The rich lie strangled by their money
There’s going to be some cutting down to size
Have you heard that one day
It won’t be like it’s ever been before
The king will give his throne for fire wood
The lords’ fine robes, they warm the poor
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4. |
There's Just The Kiss
02:53
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You are surprising revelation, a singing in the rain
A May the 8th arrival, the breaking of a chain
You are an overwhelming feeling, a sight of so much more
A longing loved inside me, this sudden open door
And my God, you were done to me, no invitation here
A many-coloured telling, every season of the year
My defences torn and crumbled, melting everything I’ve heard
Such mercy from above, making good this big absurd
Between abandonment and bliss – there’s just the kiss
You made your cross the doorway, as my life, it faded fast,
The priest says to my mother, ‘She has not long to last’
I remember childhood prayers that I should suffer and I should scream
I knew not what I asked, so fear – when God gives you your dreams.
And my God, you were done to me; done, dusted, signed and sealed
A strange disturbing telling of what is, and is not, real
I’m on my knees and begging, so broken yet so pleased
I’m on my knees not knowing, since you were done to me
Between abandonment and bliss – there’s just the kiss
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5. |
No Wrath
03:02
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In you, my dear Lord Bishop – I find a sea of rage
A choppy wash in which good people drown
The breaking waves break everything, leave bodies on the shore
Your rage, sir, has an undertow
That drags God’s children down and down, down and down
Yet I laugh mightily and noisily, my giggle grows and grows
My laughter quells cathedral bell and hurts from head to toe
I roar mightily and merrily, our courteous God quite free
Of all the hate and violence in the hearts of you and me
This prayer of laughter
This prayer of laughter coming over me
For God, my dear Lord Bishop – she has no rage at all
There is no wrath or judgement to bring shame
If God’s a sea, the water’s kind, he carries sailors home
No rage, sir, can I find in God, no hint or trace of blame
So I laugh mightily and noisily, my giggle grows and grows
My laughter quells cathedral bell and hurts from head to toe
I roar mightily and merrily, our courteous God quite free
Of all the hate and violence in the hearts of you and me
This prayer of laughter, This prayer of laughter
This prayer of laughter coming over me
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6. |
My Most Unlikely Throne
04:30
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Stone by stone, they brick me in; they close me to the sky
To dewy grass and winter sun and I know you’ll ask me why
Outside they sing a funeral tune, this cell declared my tomb
My mother weeps, my friends aghast, ‘You end your life too soon’
But all I know is ‘It must be’, though what must be who knows?
They tell me I must think again, ‘It’s an awful door you close’
But here I’m safe, no judging eyes, no angry voice chants blame
Here I’ll write of things untold and bring an end to shame
This cell is heaven, though true, it could be hell
Will I go mad or find that all’s quite well?
I have to be here, sealed in stone by stone
A place to breathe – my most unlikely throne
So I become an anchoress, one anchored to a place
And folk can come and see me; but I’ll not leave this space
The world can go but I’ll remain, constrained by stone and clay
But free in God’s own joy shown clear to me, the 8th of May
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7. |
When Adam Dug
02:55
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I stand now before you at the end of the chase
Only noose and rough knife await me
We were promised fair play, we heard the king say
‘I will hear you – and change will occur!’ Hah!
When the peasants cry ‘Foul’, they don’t stand a chance
The king more concerned with his palace
With conquest and tax, with the wine in his racks
We’re a long way from Eden today. Hah!
For when Adam dug and Eve she span
Who was then a gentleman?
Where in the garden was bishop or king?
God’s sweet green Eden knew no such thing
Who then was the serf? Who close to the crown?
Who paraded in fur and soft velvet gown?
For when Adam dug and Eve she span
Who then on earth was a gentleman?
An Englishman I, but I cry for the realm
Grace walks with a limp through our land
We ask for what’s fair, ‘This land and wealth shared
We are equal!’ – yet these words a crime
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8. |
No Answer
03:11
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Well, who am I to question, Lord, but question you I must
I lose my child, I see you not; it quite wears out my trust
‘I’ve made well the greatest harm,’ God says, ‘tired Adam hugged and held
And what I’ve done I’ll do again - I will make all things well.’
I say to God ‘The words are fine, you promise some great deed
But those of us who live here now are near destroyed by need
He smiles at me, so meekly faced, and with the eyes of love
Says ‘Know the pain you feel below is also felt above.’
But I can’t hear the comfort of these words, they slide away
My mind attacks and chases them, just anger in this day
You say a glorious secret, Lord, will show why all’s been done
But I would know the secret now, not all that is to come
I’m here tonight to question God, my loss it leaves me cold
I try to scream, there is no sound - no warmth or hope enfold
I hear no answer in the wind, no answer in these stones
No answer in this careless night, no answer in my bones
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9. |
The Fiend
04:13
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(This song is sung during a physical struggle. Julian enduring it, Stan watching on. We do not see the attacker, though we his effect.)
J: No comfort here in sealed cell, I shall be overcome
Torment arrives and where’s my God?
S: Your God is on the run
Who knows his whereabouts these days? He leaves you to your fears
Some monster from your past attacks
J: The fiend, he’s gross, he leers
P: The Pardoner brings pardon, you’ll find us very nice
I offer sweet forgiveness - but only at a price
R: St Agatha’s thigh, St Agatha’s thigh!
Oh me oh my, St Agatha’s thigh!
It’s for those who sigh, St Agatha’s thigh
J: Well, who am I to question, Lord? But question you I must
I lose my sense, I see you not
S: It can wear out the trust
J: But all I know is ‘It must be’
S: Though what must be who knows?
It may be time to think again
Alone you take these blows
J: So I become an anchoress, one anchored to a place
S: Those pretty days are gone my girl!
I see your haggard face
P: The Pardoner brings pardon, you’ll find us very nice
I offer sweet forgiveness - but only at a price
R: St Agatha’s thigh, St Agatha’s thigh!
Oh me oh my, St Agatha’s thigh!
It’s for those who sigh, St Agatha’s thigh
J: Don’t strangle me, you red-skinned rogue
I feel your spit, your phlegm
S: When Adam dug and Eve she span
Who was then the gentleman?
Exchange your dreams for something real
No paradise, no bliss
Between abandonment and death
There’s only shit and piss
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10. |
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I hope you find me courteous; I gaze on you with awe
But you wonder at the suffering that comes knocking on your door
So hear, my child, what I did not say; what I never claimed for you
So many things I did not speak - so hear well what is true
I never said that torment would not arrive, loud, at your place
I neither said you’d weary not, exhausted by the pace
I never said distress would pass you by, your dear life shun,
But I did say, please remember well, ‘you shall not be overcome’
You imagine woe is punishment, you think I’ve left your heart
But in your cold and lonely cell, we have never been apart
Between us, my dear darling, there is no in-between
My homely love, no barrier here, I’ll mend your broken scream
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11. |
Tread Quietly
03:09
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Tread quietly on the stairway
The house is still, the hush so cruel to hear
Empty cot, no child’s cry – what am I to do?
An awful thief has been here
And now I hardly see you
Time takes away your face; your eyes, I lose their sight
The ache, it stays forever, yes I know
And that hardly makes it easier
The day that you were taken
Everything so smashed and sore
Wandering the streets, I walked them endlessly
Tears reached the farthest star, dear
And so it was a vision came
From body gross, I saw a child, she flew
All lily-white and lovely, how she rose!
She glided swift to heaven
Tread quietly on the stairway
I’ve had to cry and let you go, my dear
Let you go and love you so, yes I do
And I find it’s getting easier...it’s somehow getting easier
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12. |
Made, Loved, Kept
03:56
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It’s night time when I find the nut, this restless city sleeps
The harbour’s quiet, the rigging still, for now, the silence deep
I hold the nut in candlelight and see a growing thing
I seem to hold the whole world here, and sense the angels sing
‘Three delights we share with you, three joys we now declare to you
The nut you hold has heaven in its form
This world is made, this world is loved, this world securely kept!’
I wept the night a nut became the world
The city dreams, the bell strikes two, the witching hour for many
I irritate myself with thoughts; they’re not worth a traveller’s penny
I hold the nut in candle light, good cheer all packed and gone
But shift inside me, sudden change, when I hear the angel song
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13. |
Love Is His Meaning
05:00
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Have you ever wished the meaning to be plain?
Have you ever tried to understand the ‘why’ of all that is?
I tell you now, sealed in my cell, I oft’ desired to know this well
The motion and the meaning of it all
Have you ever wished to understand the times?
Have you ever tried to see the golden thread through life’s strange course?
I tell you now, sealed in my cell, I oft’ desired to know this well
The motion and the meaning of it all
But there and then, no count to ten,
I saw the meaning clear, I saw the meaning clear,
Ask who showed it? And I say love
Ask me what they showed? And I say love
Ask why they showed? It's for love’s sake, yes!
Dear love’s the meaning - the meaning of it all
Dear love’s the meaning - the meaning of it all
I saw God in a point, all flows from there
He lives in all and does all things, holds everything secure
I know it now, sealed in my cell, I’ve oft' desired to know this well
The meaning of it all is love unknown
And there and then, no count to ten,
I saw the meaning clear, I saw the meaning clear,
Ask who showed it? And I say love
Ask me what they showed? And I say love
Ask why they showed? It's for love’s sake, yes!
Dear love’s the meaning - the meaning of it all
Dear love’s the meaning - the meaning of it all
I love it here, although it hurts
I love this city though it cries
Cathedral spire it gives us hope beneath the darkening skies
The plague it plagues us, bishops rage
But bluebells grow here, they cheer my day
Apothecary mends us well - and prayer to God, they say
I love this England, though it hurts me (yes it hurts me!)
I love this city how it shines
The market hums, we’re European here, sir
We give them wool, they give us cheese and Flemish wine
Ask who showed it? And I say love
Ask me what they showed? And I say love
Ask why they showed? It's for love’s sake, yes!
Dear love’s the meaning - the meaning of it all
Dear love’s the meaning - the meaning of it all
Dear love’s the meaning - the meaning of it all
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14. |
All Shall Be Well
05:06
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And now the day is done, we’ll let it be
And if the birds have sung, we’ll let them rest
And as darkness draws a veil over all that’s been and all we’ve seen
Let the coverlet of sleep be wrapped around you – all shall be well
And now the day is done, we’ll let it be
As the sun sinks low, no need to cry
If your clothes are torn, dust-laden, and the battle scars seem all that are
And the traveller’s bag is empty of supplies – all shall be well
All shall be well, and all shall be well
And all manner of things, see this unfolding - they shall be well
As the old day dies, we let it be
If night terrors rise, we’ll grin and wink
Like the flower closed at twilight, no shame to spoil you, no fear to foil you
The flower is quite renewed by morning light – all shall be well
And now the day is done, we’ll let it be
And if the birds have sung, we’ll let them rest
And as darkness draws a veil over all that’s been and all we’ve seen
Let the coverlet of sleep be wrapped around you – all shall be well
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Hoile/Parke UK
Martin and Simon have worked together for over forty years but 'All Shall Be Well' is their first musical. So, ancient roots of collaboration but fresh growth now in the remarkable story of Julian of Norwich, turned into fourteen wonderful songs of hope’s triumph over despair. A woman for our time! ... more
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