The Denied

from Moorscape - Album by John Reed

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about

THE DENIED is the most pointedly political song on Moorscape. It draws a parallel between the marginalization of the poor in times of land enclosure from the Middle Ages onward and through the Industrial Revolution, with the widening class divide that we see today as a direct result of the period of current government policies.

lyrics

THE DENIED

The wild wind blows where trees once grew
Swooping down across the land
Dry stone boundaries divide and rule
For the ruin of many, and the benefit of few

War and commerce, need and greed
Food to grow and mouths to feed
Swathes of inhospitable earth
Turned to pasture for what its worth

Walls and dykes and pales plough through
Lynchetts, narrow rig and furrow
Trees cleared, saplings chewed,
Grazing stock on land accrued.

A right of way, a right of man
The right to graze on common land
A way of life that’s now passed on
From penniless man to penniless son
A legacy of bitterness
Of community divide
Of those who have, and those who strive
And those who’ve been denied

The poor and landless, marginalized
Driven from villages, stigmatised
Survive on waste and border land
To make a life, to fall or stand

Common fields erased by law
Assart strips beside the moor
A piecemeal patchwork on the edge
Its yield to fail, there left to beg

Factory workers built their homes
Cottages of rocks and stones
After a day of labour in the cotton mill
To till the soil as the shadows turn

A right of way, a right of man
The right to graze on common land
A way of life that’s now passed on
From penniless man to penniless son
A legacy of bitterness
Of community divide
Of those who have, and those who strive
And those who’ve been denied
And those who’ve been denied

credits

from Moorscape - Album, track released April 4, 2016
JOHN REED: Cittern, Vocals
HEYGAMAL: Production

© Lyrics and music to all songs copyright John Reed 2016. All Rights Reserved

All recordings © and ℗ ND4PRM 2016

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John Reed Manchester, UK

John is a Blackpool born singer-songwriter from Manchester whose songs cover themes of social injustice, environment, politics, and life

In 2020, John joined producer Ali Karim and Jo Beth Young in releasing "The Peasants' Revolt" (as NIGHTSONG) in December 2020.

His new album in collaboration with Ali Karim "Breathe" will be released on 1st October 2021. Look out for the full album YouTube! ... more

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