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Three Songs From 'The Hamlet of Stepney Green'
( I )
Beggars can't be choosers, so pass the word around,
No matter what you do, you'll end up underground.
Silver trout are sleeping in heaps upon the slabs,
With mackerel and lobsters and lethargic crabs.
The dead are busy sleeping eternity away,
They do not go out shopping on this fair summer's day.
Beggars can't be choosers, the executioner said,
And if you beg for life, you're bound to lose your head.
They do not smell the flowers that take the breath away,
Mimosa and Rose, Carnation and Lily.
The dead are busy sleeping in the eternal dark,
They do not go out shopping or walk in the park.
Beggars can't be choosers, so pass the world away,
No matter how you climb, you'll end up in the clay.
They do not buy the warm bread, the wine and watercress,
Or give a copper coin to a bronze accordionist.
The dead are busy sleeping eternity away,
They come not to the market on this fair summer's day.
Beggars can't be choosers, no matter what you're worth,
The best of us, the worst of us, will burst beneath the earth.
Beggars can't be choosers - so pass the word around,
You do not need a passport to travel to the ground.
( II )
Quiet and still was the garden of Eden,
Oh woe is me - oh woe is me,
God said I'll start humanity breathing,
Wake my baby son Adam.
Under a tree the serpent lay scheming,
Oh woe is me.
Eve gave Adam the apple of bitterness,
Oh woe is me - oh woe is me,
Guilty and sad they covered their nakedness,
Out of Eden they ran,
Far from that place they fled into nothingness,
Oh woe is me.
Quiet and still is the garden of Eden,
Oh woe is me - oh woe is me,
There sits the Lord alone and grieving,
Weeping over his son.
Under the tree the serpent lies sleeping,
Oh woe is me.
( III )
SKY! SKY!
Sky! sky! the children cry,
Where do we go to when we die?
What are we doing in this dream?
Sky! Sky! the children scream.
Sky! sky! the children scream,
life is nothing but a dream,
a game of dancing in a ring,
sky, sky, the children sing.
Sky! sky! the children sing,
Who'll be beggar? Who'll be king?
We'll play this game until we die;
sky! sky! the children cry.
1959
