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about

A song about the radical lawyer, John Cook, who lived at the time of the English Civil War and led the prosecution of Charles l but was executed as a regicide after the Restoration of Charles ll. Written by Steve Cartwright.

lyrics

John Cook
Chorus
Ogg ‘all, Ogg’all
I lived at at old Ogg ‘all
At Burbage town in Leicestershire
That’s where I were born

Ogg ‘all, Ogg’all
I lived at at old Ogg ‘all
At Burbage town in Leicestershire
That’s where I were born
Ogg all Ogg’all
I lived at Old Ogg ‘all
I saw the plight of the common man
And the rich who ruled it all

Chorus

My father was a poor man
John Cook it was mi name
Somehow I got to Oxford town
To live and learn my trade
I studied hard I studied well
And I rose to high renown
And I prosecuted Charles the First
Helped take away his crown

Chorus

As I read the charges out
At Whitehall in the court
Charles poked me with his walking stick
To every charge I brought
To tyrant, traitor, murderer
He poked me with his stick
The pommel fell and he were forced
To crawl and pick it up.

Chorus

I told him if he didn’t plead
Guilty would be brought
And if he pleaded that would mean
He recognised the court.
Twixt the devil and the deep
He still withheld his breath
So the court then found him guilty
And sentenced him to death

Chorus

To the scaffold Charles was led away
There to face the axe
And a glorious thing it was for me
To see him so dispatched
But Charles the Second was returned
Twenty years gone buy
And all of us who signed that deed
Accused of regicide

Chorus

All the years that we had fought
To oust the monarchy
To bring to this our nation
A fair democracy
All the poor and suffering who fought that civil war
All gone down the pan
As Charles the Second is restored

Chorus

And now the bastards come for me
To eke out their revenge
Put me on the scaffold
Hang me by the neck
And let me down and chop me up
Slit me through the gut
To show the world what happens
If you rail against your lot.

Chorus x 2

credits

from Legends of Leicester & Leicestershire Vol. III, released December 22, 2022
Steve - solo vocal

license

all rights reserved

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about

Steve Cartwright image

Steve Cartwright Leicester, UK

I am a singer/songwriter (of considerable repute), a poet and an artist and I’ve been around for centuries. I write great songs and you’ll find they span a variety of styles and cover a very wide range of topics. My poems (like my songs) are designed to inform and challenge and to make you laugh and cry. ... more

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