> Martin Carthy > Songs > The Song of the Lower Classes

The Song of the Lower Classes

[ Roud V39520 ; words Ernest Jones, tune arr. Martin Carthy]

Martin Carthy sang The Song of the Lower Classes a cappella with multi-tracked vocals on his 1982 album Out of the Cut. This track was re-released in 1993 on The Collection, and it is also on the miners' benefit compilation album of 1993, Undefeated. Martin Carthy commented in the original album's sleeve notes:

It was courtesy of Vic [Gammon] that I was able to hang around the library of the Sussex Archaeological Society in Lewes of which he is a member, and look through several of the hand-written hymnals of the 18^th and 19^th centuries. In one presented by an Uckfield gentleman and inscribed “G. J. Baker 1813“ there was a three-part hymn, Otford, and later on it seemed appropriate to sing to it the words of the 19^th-century Chartist Ernest Jones, The Song of the Lower Classes. If it seems extraordinary that words written 130 years ago should sound loud and clear today, then a small investigation of other writings of the period (1840s and 1850s) will show that it is by no means alone in that. Sometimes the comparisons are indeed arresting.

The writer, Ernest Jones, stood unsuccessfully as a Chartist MP in 1847, was arrested in 1848 and sentenced to two years of solitary confinement. From 1851 on, he started publishing a weekly magazine, Notes to the People, in which this song was published in March 1852.

Bob Davenport sang this song with a few verses of his own as Song of the Other Ranks on his 2004 Topic CD The Common Stone.

Finest Kind sang Song of the Lower Classes on their 2010 album For Honour & for Gain. They noted:

Martin Carthy first drew Ian [Robb]'s attention to this poem, written by Englishman Ernest Jones in the early 1850s. Jones was a vocal member of the Chartist movement and an admirer of Marx and Engels, and in 1848 he was sentenced to two years, mostly spent in solitary confinement, for “seditious” speeches. While in jail, he was denied the use of pen and paper, and is reputed to have written some of his work in his own blood on the tom-out pages of a prayer book. The Chartist movement lasted only a few years, but is often credited with creating a new working class consciousness in England, which led ultimately to the labour movement and increased political clout for the unprivileged. Shelley [Posen] felt that in hindsight, Jones's rather dark and hopeless poem deserved a more uplifting conclusion, so Ian wrote one. While at it, he also came up with a new melody for Finest Kind to sink its teeth into.

Cath and Phil Tyler sang The Song of the Lower Classes in 2018 on their CD The Ox ad the Ax.

GreenMatthews sang the Song of the Lower Classes on their 2019 CD Roots & Branches. They noted:

Another song which was originally a poem. Ernest Jones was one of the leaders of the mid-19^th century Chartist movement and wrote this critique of the Victorian economic system while detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure for sedition. Chris [Green] wrote the melody and would be grateful to hear from anyone who can tell him which time signature it’s in.

Lyrics

Martin Carthy sings The Song of the Lower Classes	Bob Davenport sings Song of the Other Ranks
We plough and sow we are so low That we delve in the dirty clay Till we bless the plain with golden grain And the vale with the fragrant hay Our place we know we are so low Down at the landlord's feet We're not too low the bread to grow Too low the bread to eat	We plough and sow we're very, very low That we delve in the dirty clay Till we bless the plain with golden grain And the vale with the fragrant hay Our place we know we are so low Down at the landlord's feet We're not too low the bread to grow Too low the bread to eat
Down down we go we are so low To the hell of the deep sunk mine But we gather the proudest gems that glow When the crown of the despot shines Whenever he lacks upon our backs Fresh loads he deigns to lay We're far too low to vote the tax Not too low to pay
We're low we're low we're rabble we know Yet at our plastic power The mould at the lordling's feet will grow Into palace and church and tower Then prostrate fall in the rich man's hall Cringe at the rich man's door We're not too low to build the wall Too low to tread the floor
We're low we're low we are so low Yet from our fingers glide The silken flow and the robes that glow Round the limbs of the sons of pride And what we get and what we give We know and we know our share We're not too low the cloth to weave Too low the cloth to wear	We're low we're low we're very, very low Yet from our fingers glide The silken flow and the robes that glow Round the limbs of the sons of pride And what we get and what we give We know and we know our share We're not too low the cloth to weave But too low the cloth to wear
We're low we're low we are so low Yet when the trumpets ring The thrust of a poor man's arm will go Through the heart of the proudest king We're low we're low our place we know Only the rank and file We're not too low to kill the foe Too low to touch the spoil
	We're low we're low as to war we go To fight some foreign country That was yesterday our greatest friend But today's our enemy God bless our boys the papers scream Praise them the churchmen cry When the war is won and home we come Who care's if we live or die?
	We're low we're low 'till that happy day When we're called to a heaven on high When the freedom we never had in our lives Will be there on the day we die If you see no worth suffering hell on earth For the promise of a heaven above Why not join the fight that one day we might See a heaven down here below

Acknowledgements

Most of the words provided by Wolfgang Hell, whom Garry Gillard thanks. Some corrections are from the participants in the Mudcat Café thread Lyr Add: Song of the Lower Classes.