save one day in spring,
then, with Jack, we make our cheer,
through the streets we sing.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
One day off from climbing flues,
black from head to feet,
now we’re reds and greens and blues,
and the air smells sweet.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
Not this day for scraping cuts,
knees and elbows raw,
smoke fumes blazing in our guts,
brimstone, brine and straw.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
Neither’s this a day to die,
stuck in closing walls,
nor to hear a scream and cry
as a poor lad falls.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
How we wish we could be free,
but we have to earn,
put to work by family,
climb and brush and burn.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
* * *
On Bank Holiday Monday 5 May, Happenstance performed at Sudeley Castle, as part of the programme for ‘A Victorian May Day’.
This poem is inspired by the dance created especially for the occasion, recalling a custom in London for the chimney-sweeps of the town to start up the May Day revelries, accompanied by Jack-in-the-Green. There’s a very interesting account of a Cheltenham celebration at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Folk-Lore/Volume_4/May-Day_in_Cheltenham (I use the second line of Mr. Ames’s ‘ditty’ for my title).
According to research (mostly Mayhew via Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_sweep), May Day was the sweeps’ only holiday. Despite attempts at regulation throughout the Victorian era, working conditions remained horrendous for many young boys. I include these experiences in my poem, to draw a contrast with the exuberance of their one day off to dance.
Each verse and the chorus follows the rhyme scheme ABAB…, and the rhythm is – ~ – ~ – ~ – / – ~ – ~ – etc. This is the same rhythm as ‘Song of the Stones’, but to my ear it’s a lot ‘skippier’.
<(:-)
then, with Jack, we make our cheer,
through the streets we sing.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
One day off from climbing flues,
black from head to feet,
now we’re reds and greens and blues,
and the air smells sweet.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
Not this day for scraping cuts,
knees and elbows raw,
smoke fumes blazing in our guts,
brimstone, brine and straw.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
Neither’s this a day to die,
stuck in closing walls,
nor to hear a scream and cry
as a poor lad falls.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
How we wish we could be free,
but we have to earn,
put to work by family,
climb and brush and burn.
Stick it to the master sweep,
on the first of May;
come tomorrow, wounds will weep,
but today we play.
* * *
On Bank Holiday Monday 5 May, Happenstance performed at Sudeley Castle, as part of the programme for ‘A Victorian May Day’.
This poem is inspired by the dance created especially for the occasion, recalling a custom in London for the chimney-sweeps of the town to start up the May Day revelries, accompanied by Jack-in-the-Green. There’s a very interesting account of a Cheltenham celebration at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Folk-Lore/Volume_4/May-Day_in_Cheltenham (I use the second line of Mr. Ames’s ‘ditty’ for my title).
According to research (mostly Mayhew via Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_sweep), May Day was the sweeps’ only holiday. Despite attempts at regulation throughout the Victorian era, working conditions remained horrendous for many young boys. I include these experiences in my poem, to draw a contrast with the exuberance of their one day off to dance.
Each verse and the chorus follows the rhyme scheme ABAB…, and the rhythm is – ~ – ~ – ~ – / – ~ – ~ – etc. This is the same rhythm as ‘Song of the Stones’, but to my ear it’s a lot ‘skippier’.
<(:-)
