THE BALLAD OF LIZARD JIM (© J.Constable 2016)

A man retreats to the shadows up on Turnpike Hill,

On a still night you could hear his cries (some say you can hear them still.)

His name it once was taken, from the coastline of his birth,

But now Lizard Jim just hides his face, from this cruel, cruel earth.

 

To Perran he’d gone courting, home of 3 sisters fair,

Wheal Caroline and Jenny, once held their riches there

,But in Charlotte’s warm embrace, he had pledged to toil,

Putting copper in the coffers, hewn from the Penwith soil.

 

(Fires burn bright, through stormy night, Wheal engine roars – over western shores.)

 

Hard the men all grafted, 60 fathoms in to hell,

In the dark, dust & danger, many good men fell,

But the masters pushed still harder, both man & the machine,

The windlass turns, the coal it burns, red gauges cloaked in steam.

 

(Fires burn bright, through stormy night, Engine roars – over western shores.)

 

(The stokers said)

Coal, coal, feed the coal, pressure in the boiler grows,

Coal, coal, feed the coal, pressure in the boiler grows,

Coal, coal, feed the coal, pressure in the boiler grows,

Glow, glow, feed the coal, pressure builds and wheal house blows!

 

So while the masters count their riches, the workers count the cost,

Of daily perils they must face, and good men that they just lost,

But Jim hides in the shadows, for the rest of his years,

For his scarred face was bathed in Charlotte’s scalding tears.

 

(Fires burn bright, through stormy night, Engine roars – over western shores.)

 

Key of G Minor

Original tuning DADGAD Capo 5

Basic chords in std tuning Gm C (…or Em A Capo 3)

THE MYSTERY (PZ233) – (© J.Constable 2023)

Come gather round my boys, I have a bold tale to tell,

Of a modest little Lugger, and it’s brave crew as well,

She sailed out of Newlyn, PZ 233,

But to Captain Nicholls and his lads, she was the Mystery.

 

We tried to feed our families, We lived from hand to mouth,

But we heard there were riches to the south.

 

As we slipped from the quay, a North wind cleared the skies,

Firecrows danced above us, bidding farewell in their cries,

To leave my home and family, it grieved me something raw,

But the thought of gold and riches, drove me 10 times more.

 

Penlee, Carn Du, and Cribba were soon behind the mast,

Past the Wolf then all land faded fast.

 

Chorus

Haul, haul away boys, find your fortune across the sea,

Haul, haul away boys, sail there in Mystery.

 

On the 8th day we passed Madeira, and picked up the Northeast trades,

Soon we’d crossed an ocean and Trinidad was made,

Good headway through the Doldrums, sails cut a gallant shape,

Just 50 days since leaving, we rounded the mighty Cape.

 

As we pulled in to the harbour, they were amazed by our deed,

To reach so very far at such a speed.

 

Chorus

 

Sad to be leaving Cape Town, we pointed Mystery East,

We knew the Southern Ocean, would start to bare its teeth,

40° South they hit us, winds of hurricane force,

But for weeks we sailed on through them and refused to change our course.

 

Australia now sighted, it would be a matter of days,

Till we were safe at anchor, in Hobson’s Bay.

 

Chorus

We never did find our fortune, most of us went home,

Settled back in Cornwall never more to roam,

In the bleakest depths of winter, in the mizzle and the cold,

I still dream of riches, and I still dream of gold.

 

But I in the tin mines and the quarries, fishing grounds and farms,

The only gold I see are 15 bezants …on a coat of arms.

 

Chorus

Key of E major

Original tuning Std with Partial Capo on 2

Basic Chords in std tuning E D F#m G#m A B

GUNBARREL HIGHWAY REVISITED (© J.Constable 2011)

Down here on this highway,

Land has turned to rust,

Breath you’ll be choking,

On the diesel & the dust.

The sky still burns,

Over Emu Field,

The firestorm won’t die,

The land had to yield.

 

Chorus

Down here there’s no crossroads,

You ain’t got no soul to sell,

Your roadtrains came to heaven,

But you turned it in to a burning hell,

On the Gunbarrel Road…

 

You mine your gold,

Gold you can’t eat,

Your morals they smell,

Like road kill in the heat,

We need no map,

By the night or by the day,

The Dreaming guides,

The Songlines show the way.

 

Chorus

 

Down here on this highway,

Land has turned to rust,

Breath you’ll be choking,

On the diesel & the dust,

…The diesel & the dust,

…The diesel & the dust.

Key of E

Original tuning Csus2 Capo 5

Basic Chords used in std tuning E G A F

THE LAST LIGHT (© J.Constable 2018)

Jack stares in to the night, across the harbour he sees no other light,

Just the Cardinals preaching of danger way out to sea,

In the village there’s no sign of life, Just the ghost of past friends and his dear wife,

In the darkness of winter he clings to their memory,

But the last light in the village it stays on.

 

Jack mourns for what used to be, the kith, the kin, the community,

A place with a future as well as a past,

But now that’s all gone, no sounds of laughter, labour or song.

Without these rhythms, a village can’t last.

But the last light in the village it stays on,

Even though the soul of this place it has gone,

The last light in the village it stays on.

 

They’ll bulldoze the heritage for a developers greed,

Build for gross profit, not for local need,

Replace granite and slate with a soulless glass box,

For capital investment, safer than stocks.

The vast summer income is reaped far away,

But in the dark months of winter no one will stay,

In village after village, so it will go,

These homes are just part of their portfolio.

 

One night Jack’s light was out, there were no neighbours to hear his shout,

His cries for help slowly drifting away out to sea.

He was finally found, but before they laid him in the ground,

The vultures were circling to profit from Jack’s misery.

The last light in the village it has gone, another village dies, it can’t live on,

The last light in the village it has gone,

The last light in the village …it has gone.

Key of Dm

Original tuning Csus2 capo 2

Basic Chords in std tuning Dm C F G

THE NAVIGATOR (© J.Constable 2019)

I came across from County Claire,

Didn’t want to leave but no work there to feed an honest man.

With a pick and shovel on my back, I went to labour on the track,

And send home what I can.

 

I landed first in Liverpool (With Irish heart and Irish Spirit.)

Hell broke lose, the streets were full (Of Irish sweat and blood.)

The Scouse boys didn’t want us here (with Irish heart and Irish Spirit.)

We work too hard, we have no fear (with Irish sweat and blood.)

 

On Great Western I joined Brunel’s crew (with Irish heart and Irish Spirit.)

From London to Penzance we drew (Irish sweat and blood.)

We’d tunnel all day without a rest (with Irish heart and Irish Spirit.)

Through clay in the East and granite out West (with Irish sweat and blood.)

 

To be a beast of burden, is an unforgiving life,

But it’s an honest one, that much I will say.

It was the path that I was given, but a path’s not set for life,

So I’ll lead my kin on a different way.

And I’ll I’ll dig for my family, dig for my wife,

I’ll dig through ice and pouring rain.

I’ll dig for their future, forget the toil and pain,

So my son might stoke the engine, and his might drive the train,

Yes, my son will stoke the engine …and his might drive the train!

 

We built an empire in our time (with Irish heart and Irish Spirit.)

With blistered hand and twisted spine (Irish sweat and blood.)

With every mile of track we laid, (with Irish heart and Irish Spirit.)

A navigator’s life was paid (in Irish sweat and blood.)

Key of Gm

Original tuning DADGAD capo 5

Basic chords in std tuning Gm Bb C D7 (…or Em G A B7 capo 2)

THE LAST DAY OF THE WAR (© J.Constable 2010)

They marched us down through Belgium, & they marched us in to France,

With the Royal Irish Lancers I had to take my chance.

I fought for King & country, I fought for my young son,

I traded in my miners pick for a bullet & a gun.

 

Fritz pushed us back at Mons but we tried to make a stand,

He spat his steel & fire across the sky, in to the land.

He taught us bloody stalemate, in the prison of the trench,

He taught us fear & horror amongst the dying and the stench.

 

Chorus

The General’s watch ticked loud boys, over the gun’s loud roar,

But every second passing, took us closer to England’s shore.

…And the last day of the War.

 

As 1916 came around, all innocence was gone,

Lost in clouds of poison gas that hung over the Somme,

Never could I dream a life would have so little worth,

Dying just like vermin in this hell upon the Earth.

 

Then one day in 1918 the Great War was called to time,

In the silence of the Forest the armistice was signed,

On the 11th hour of that day the guns were due to cease,

And I dared to dream of family, I dared to dream of peace.

 

Chorus

 

With 11th hour approaching, they said boys get your guns,

Your was it isn’t over yet, we’re not finished with the Hun,

For some old general’s vanity, we went over one more time,

Each bullet had a name on it and on one of them was mine.

 

So farewell to you Tommy’s, Doughboys, Boche & Poilu,

Farewell to the sons & daughters that you never knew,

But forget their nationalities, amongst the chaos and the noise

Lest we forget that they were just, young men and frightened boys

 

Chorus

The General’s watch ticked loud boys, over the gun’s loud roar,

But every minute passing, took us closer to England’s shore.

And the last day of the War.

Yes the general’s watch ticked over the guns loud roar,

Never will I see old England’s shore.

Key of D

Original tuning Csus2 capo 2

Basic Chords in std tuning D