Well, a soldier and a sailor was a-walking one day.
Said the soldier to the sailor I've a great mind to pray,
For the rights of all nations and the wrongs of all men,
And what ever I shall pray for you must answer: Amen!
And the first thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for some beer
Glory, O glory, it'll bring us good cheer.
And if we have one pint may we also have ten
Let's have a bleedin' brewery. Said the soldier: Amen!
And the next thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for a wench
Glory, o glory, and may she be French
And if we have one wench may we also have ten
Let's have a bloody harem. Said the sailor: Amen!
And the next thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for some cash
Glory, O glory, we can go on the bash,
And we have one pound may we also have ten
Let's have decimal currency. Said the soldier: Amen!
The first MAN we'll pray for, we'll pray for John Dillon
May he make a good speech whenever he's willin',
And if he makes one speech may he also make ten
May he never, never make a bad one. Said the soldier: Amen!
And the next MAN we'll pray for, we'll pray for Parnell
And the landlords and the bailiffs, we'll send them to hell,
And if they have one hell may they also have ten
May the rubble-dubble devil double-triple damn them. Said the sailor: Amen!
Well, the next thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for a boat
And we don't give a shit if it sinks or it floats,
And if we have one boat may we also have ten
Let's have the fucking Navy. Said the soldier: Amen!
The next thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for a lift
Glory, O glory, and may it be swift;
And if we have one lift may we also have ten
Let's have fucking convoy. Said the sailor: Amen!
And the penultimate thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for world peace
From China to Chico, from Grozny to Greece,
And if it lasts one year may it also last ten
May we never, never have another war. And we all say: Amen!
And the last thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for a wife
That we may be happy for the rest of our life,
And if we have one wife may we also have ten
And another one in Fazakerly. Said the sailor: Amen!
Said the soldier to the sailor I've a great mind to pray,
For the rights of all nations and the wrongs of all men,
And what ever I shall pray for you must answer: Amen!
And the first thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for some beer
Glory, O glory, it'll bring us good cheer.
And if we have one pint may we also have ten
Let's have a bleedin' brewery. Said the soldier: Amen!
And the next thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for a wench
Glory, o glory, and may she be French
And if we have one wench may we also have ten
Let's have a bloody harem. Said the sailor: Amen!
And the next thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for some cash
Glory, O glory, we can go on the bash,
And we have one pound may we also have ten
Let's have decimal currency. Said the soldier: Amen!
The first MAN we'll pray for, we'll pray for John Dillon
May he make a good speech whenever he's willin',
And if he makes one speech may he also make ten
May he never, never make a bad one. Said the soldier: Amen!
And the next MAN we'll pray for, we'll pray for Parnell
And the landlords and the bailiffs, we'll send them to hell,
And if they have one hell may they also have ten
May the rubble-dubble devil double-triple damn them. Said the sailor: Amen!
Well, the next thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for a boat
And we don't give a shit if it sinks or it floats,
And if we have one boat may we also have ten
Let's have the fucking Navy. Said the soldier: Amen!
The next thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for a lift
Glory, O glory, and may it be swift;
And if we have one lift may we also have ten
Let's have fucking convoy. Said the sailor: Amen!
And the penultimate thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for world peace
From China to Chico, from Grozny to Greece,
And if it lasts one year may it also last ten
May we never, never have another war. And we all say: Amen!
And the last thing we'll pray for, we'll pray for a wife
That we may be happy for the rest of our life,
And if we have one wife may we also have ten
And another one in Fazakerly. Said the sailor: Amen!
envoyé par Bernart Bartleby - 17/7/2015 - 11:54
Fazakerly (Fazakerley), nell'ultima strofa, è un sobborgo di Liverpool.
Bernart Bartleby - 17/7/2015 - 12:54
×
![]()
Parole e musica tradizionali, con aggiunte di Stan Kelly (1929-2014), songwriter e scienziato informatico nato a Liverpool ma di origine irlandese.
Si tratta di una versione di una canzone tradizionale inglese nota con i titoli di “The Soldier’s Prayer” o “The Soldier and The Sailor”, esistente in innumerevoli versioni – e anche parodie “da caserma” o “da trincea” – riscontrabili sul solito, ottimo Mudcat Café. Penso soprattutto a quelle di Hamish Imlach e di Mike Seeger, ma anche a quella musicata da Benjamin Britten.
Ho scelto però la versione di Kelly intanto per introdurre l’autore nelle CCG/AWS e poi perché è parecchio interpolata, attualizzata e personale, con riferimenti non solo al nazionalismo irlandese (nelle citate figure di John Dillon e Charles Stewart Parnell, il riformatore agrario) ma addirittura con una strofa, sicuramente aggiunta negli anni 90, in cui l’autore chiede la pace per la Cina (forse con riferimento alla rivolta di Tiananmen del 1989), per Chico (forse con riferimento a Chico Mendes), per Grozny (la città rasa al suolo durante le guerre cecene) e per la Grecia (non so se con riferimento al regime dei colonnelli).