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The Ballad of John Lawson

from Trappy Lad by Tony Morris

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about

The sad tale of a young man who came to an untimely end. A cautionary tale.

lyrics

The Chapel was crowded and silent.
The Preacher gave his address.
He tried to be kind
But none there was blind
To what the ‘Demon Drink’ could do.
Butcher Lawson sat upright and stern
But his heart was breaking in two.

George Lawson had always been ‘Chapel’.
He never touched a drop.
He taught young Johnny, his son,
That once you’ve begun, you can’t stop.

Johnny he listened and nodded, respectful,
As lads in their teens sometimes do
But his pals had other ideas
And they would taunt him so.

Well, Johnny knew where to get money,
His Dad keeping a butcher’s shop,
So, at last, he succumbed to temptation,
A path with a sudden drop.

Young Walker and young Ingledew
Where not real friends of John.
They were local lads he sought to impress.
In his hour of need, they’d gone.

They said if he’d get the gin
They knew a secret hut
Close by an old pit shaft,
Whether it was Sunday or not.

Daft Johnny sneaked off to meet them
With a pint and a half of gin.
They lit the cabin fire.
John was drawn right in.




When the pint and a half was supped
Two went off to get more.
They left young Johnny alone, sitting,
Propped up near the cabin door.

Returning a fair while later, in the February dark,
They found the cabin empty, bare,
Not a sign of John, he’d upped and gone
But they knew from his state it couldn’t be far.

They searched and they searched
And they panicked. It was bitter dark.
They went for help from the Village,
Found out in their secret lark.

It was ten at night when the found John
At the bottom of the old pit shaft,
A sad night for the families. It was said,
“As lads, there’s nowt so daft.”

In a public room at the Wharton Arms,
With the open coffin there,
The Queen’s Coroner and a jury
Heard this story of this affair.

So now the Chapel is silent,
As the Wharton Arms had been,
As the Jury gave it’s verdict,
“Accidental Death. John Lawson.
Aged sixteen.

Some lads fall into bother
And end up with angels too soon
While others skirt round the pitfalls
Though they try to steal the Moon.

credits

from Trappy Lad, released October 29, 2014

license

all rights reserved

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about

Tony Morris Whitby, UK

TONY MORRIS is an Own Brand Performer and Entertainer who performs his own songs and music.".
Currently running Covideo Folk Club Facebook Group.
About 200 rough and ready warts and all videos on his Facebook Profile Site, Be amazed.
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