Rev Simpkins & the Phantom Notes - A Ballad of John Ball

Every East Coast boy loves salt and light
And the chaos of the sea
When you live before the power of the waves
You learn cold equality
When to Peldon Hill from Mersea Marsh
The Black Death swept its way
Oh, the young John Ball saw that illness and death
Crave all people equally
Yet in the fields worked children and men
Who toiled as property
As the yoke fixed fast the ox to the plough
They were yoked to poverty
Holding all this suff'ring in his heart
John was called to be a priest
Reading how he cared for Jesus Christ
Was shown by his care for the least
As he learned the Word and prayed the prayers
New light on him did fall:
That if God's love rests on every soul
Then each soul must care for all
So John preached this truth from Genesis:
That when Adam delved, Eve spun
As the only Lord was God above
Who was then the gentleman?
When the people rose and marched in hope
John went preaching at their head
And for telling kings their equal worth
He was tortured until dead
Through the mists of myth a truth speaks clear:
There's a dignity in all
And the Commonweal's a fragile thing
When power and wealth enthral
So let's make a faithful pilgrimage
To the Chapel of John Ball
Where we'll bow our heads and bend our knees
Praying make troublous priests of us all!

Written by:
Matthew Simpkins

Publisher:
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid

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