Who Can Own Mountains?
Benny and Jimmy and four hundred more
took to the hills for their freedom to walk
A working class pastime; a Socialist march
A right to roam Kinder for rambling men
No gamekeeper, landlord, Duke or police
could stop the mass trespass up there on the Peak
A breach of the peace; incitement to what?
‘Unlawful Assembly’ up on the Scout
The gamekeepers tried to protect it
for their masters who never once walked it
Twelve days a year the Kinder was worked
for the shooting of grouse for the rich
Show me the crime in rambling land
abandoned by landlords all year
The wickedness lies in the laws that exist
to imprison those innocent men
So go on, contain us through our working week
Kettle and shackle us, cut off our access
But who can own mountains?
Who owns the sea?
This land was made for you and for me
NB: I wrote this for the 80th anniversary of the Mass Trespass of Kinder Scout. Jimmy is Jimmy Miller, aka Ewan McColl pre-stage name, and he wrote the famous and brilliant folk song The Manchester Rambler following this event. Bonus prize for spotting the other song reference ;)
Martin Peacock
Wed 27th Jun 2012 11:52
Aye, it's gotta be Woody, surely? Hell's teeth, Laura: this is balls-out - or, considering the author should that be 'tits-out'? - brilliant. Blank verse is so difficult to pull off [pardon - still got those frustrations to contend with.] Motorik, hypnotic rhythm [like a really good Krautrock workout] and righteous spleen on top. Have you ever heard Mungo Jerry's version of 'Dust Pneumonia Blues'? Whoo! By the way, ta ever so for liking 'Sertraline' and 'Cockpit Check' [which I've now reworked so - uh-ho, I smell an act of hubris on the horizon - it's even better! Um.]