Between the wars

by Billy Bragg (Oyster Band)





I was a miner, I was a docker

I was a railwayman between the wars

I raised a family in time of austerity

With sweat at the foundry, between the wars

I paid the union and as times got harder

I looked to the government to help the working man

They brought prosperity, down at the armoury

We're arming for peace, my boys, between the wars



I kept the faith and I kept voting,

Not for the iron fist, but for the helping hand

Theirs is a land with a wall around it

And mine is a faith in my fellow man

Theirs is a land of hope and glory

Mine is the green field and the factory floor

Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers

Mine is the peace we knew between the wars



Call up the craftsmen, bring me a draughtsman

Build me a path from cradle to grave

And I'll give my consent to any government

That does not deny a man a living wage

Go find the young men, never to fight again

Call up the banners from the days gone by

Sweet moderation, the heart of this nation,

Desert us not, we are between the wars



(the mumbling is said to be And behold when they opened the sixth door

there was a great earthquake,

and the sun became black as sackcloth