The Ballad of Thomas Muir
(To the memory of Alistair Hewlett)
Words: Thomas Muir and John Broomhall
The best and bravest work in Hell
For souls like ours is to rebel;
Raise the banner to the top of the tree
Taste the fruits of Democracy.
It’s clear for the likes of me and you
There’s only one decent thing to do:
We’ll fight for the rights of all women & men;
Give of ourselves and then give again!
I was trained in Glasgow for the Law,
But that was before the English War
On the New World Order made us dance
To a tyrant’s tune and circumstance.
The Scottish courts taught “Might is right.”
They set out to crush the Jacobite.
Who would have thought it’d come to that
For a group of moderate Democrats?
I handed out ‘The Rights of Man’
And for that great crime, I was banned:
Sent abroad for fourteen years
For disturbin’ the peace of the House of Peers!
Although they tried to keep me down,
I slipped me chains in Sydney Town;
Stole a boat and sailed away,
For distant Californ-i-ay!
I embarked for Cuba and then to Spain;
Where I was sadly disfigured on the Main:
A British warship took me eye;
Badly wounded I nearly died.
From Cadiz I made me way to France,
Who needs money when you’ve got the chance
To lift your carcass up off its knees
And end your days in liberty!
The best and noblest work in Hell
For souls like ours is to rebel;
Raise the banner to the top of the tree
And share the fruits of Democracy.