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The Diggers Song

from Have You Been Listening? by Crooked Mowth

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about

One of the musical approaches we want to take is to find songs from different eras and different cultures that fit a roughly common theme. So we begin with a song written nearly 400 years ago as a protest against intrusions by the landed gentry and others 'in power’ upon the Diggers’ use of the land. The original poem has 12 verses, which are more than have usually been sung. Because some of the complaints raised in the poem are timely in the 21st century, we brought the message up to date by writing some verses of our own.

Jim insisted we leave in the verse about the lawyers though.

lyrics

You noble diggers all stand up now, stand up now
You noble diggers all stand up now
The wasteland to maintain seeing cavaliers by name
Your digging does maintain and persons all defame
Stand up now, stand up now

Your houses they pull down, stand up now, stand up now
Your houses they pull down, stand up now
Your houses they pull down to fright your men in town
But the gentry must come down, and the poor shall wear the crown
Stand up now, diggers all

The lawyers they conjoin stand up now stand up now
The lawyers they conjoin stand up now
To rescue they advise, such fury they devise,
The devil in them lies and hath blinded both their eyes
Stand up now, stand up now

The businessmen arrange, stand up now, stand up now
The businessmen arrange, stand up now
The businessmen arrange, to bolster their exchange
Expand their moneyed range, and hasten climate change
Stand up now, diggers all

The pols themselves promote, stand up now, stand up now
The pols themselves promote, stand up now
The pols themselves promote, with bluster and a quote
They make you feel remote, and suppress your right to vote
Stand up now, stand up now

With all of you we stand, join in now, join in now
With all of you we stand, join in now
With all of you we stand, in union we’ll expand
The fascists will disband, we’ll remain here hand-in-hand
Join in now, diggers all

credits

from Have You Been Listening?, released January 14, 2022

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Crooked Mowth Boston, Massachusetts

Crooked Mowth is an a cappella quartet from the Boston area, conceived by harmony-hungry friends during the COVID-19 pandemic. Haley Fisher, Jennie O’Brien, Jim Henderson, and James Gerke deliver a rich vocal blend and unique arrangements to songs old and new. Though the performers already have a comfortable home in trad/folk singing, their goal is to make an impactful sound across genres. ... more

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