![]() Recorded and released by James Bell in January 2018. Traditional, adapted by Martin Carthy and James Bell. My sword up to the hilt, sir Credits & Copyright You can read the original broadside ballad here: Lyrics The gist: laws, principles, hierarchies, ideologies, money… all the articles of power, all depend on who is holding the fucking sword. It is one of my favourite old English songs, and for me perhaps the most timeless. Lay by your pleading, law lies a-bleeding Burn all your studies down, and throw away your reading Small power. I tweaked the words a little, and I’ve kept the tune that Carthy used for it - an adaptation from a Breton pipe tune called Ar Ch’akouz (The Leper) - because I can’t imagine it any other way. Martin Carthy - Dominion of the Sword Lyrics. ![]() Printed in 1659, when Oliver Cromwell had died and his ‘protectorate’ was falling apart, this song is basically a long rant about how, now that the law is collapsing, so is the social hierarchy. Printed in 1659, when Oliver Cromwell had died and his protectorate was falling apart, this song is basically a long rant about how, now that the law is. ![]() ![]() I think this ballad, popularised by Martin Carthy and originally entitled Law Lies a-Bleeding, was a parody of the ballad Love Lies a-Bleeding. ![]()
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