The Roses of Eyam

歌詞

The earth beneath the surface dust Is cold and damp and raw And, holding but the memories Of what has gone before, Can almost be forgiven For remembering the dream Of the wall of stones around the homes Of the villagers of Eyam, Of the villagers of Eyam. In August sixteen-sixty-five Along the cobbled roads, Between the houses dark and high, The carriers with their loads Were leaving for the northern towns The capital and crown, And also leaving far behind The plague of London town, The plague of London town. George Vicars was the tailor To the village life of Eyam, And to his house a case of clothes From London town was seen To be delivered one fine day In September 'sixty-five, And never more was tailor Vicars Ever seen alive, Ever seen alive. The scars upon his face and chest Were many to behold And, lying by the fevered body Now so very cold, The case from London opened wide, The clothes all neatly hung, And from the bell upon the church The knell of death was rung, The knell of death was rung. There followed sixty, scarred and bleeding, Buried in their graves As Thomas Stanley stood above And told them "Jesus Saves". But Stanley was a puritan, An enemy to heed To Mompesson (the Anglican Who held the rectors creed, Who held the rectors creed). The differences between the men That were so very wide Were shattered by the desperate need And rudely cast aside. The forces of the two were joined. Their words were not in vain. They told the villagers of Eyam, "The plague must be contained, The plague must be contained". The simple people took their word, Agreed to stay and die. They built a wall around the hamlet, Not so very high, But high enough that they should know That though it mean their lives, The plague must stay behind the wall With children, friends and wives, With children, friends and wives. For six long months the wall did stand And honest to their word, The families died. The Friths and Sydalls Never more were heard. The Thornleys, Hancocks, and the Torres, All buried in the ground. The Coopers and the Vicars Never made another sound, Never made another sound. The dawn that rang the final bell Left thirty-three alive From three-hundred-and-fifty In September 'sixty-five. The villagers rebuilt their lives With those who still remained. The name of Eyam can still be seen; The plague had been contained, The plague had been contained, The plague had been contained, The plague had been contained...