《The Song Collector》歌词

[00:00:00] The Song Collector - Chumbawamba

[00:00:08] The Folk Society meet on Thursday nights

[00:00:13] Clear their throats and put their coughs to flight

[00:00:17] To sing the dusty cobwebs from the room

[00:00:22] A repertoire both in and out of tune

[00:00:27] Don't assume a singalong or worse

[00:00:31] This history in song and countless verse

[00:00:36] Pays homage to the man who long ago

[00:00:41] Collected all the songs the singers know

[00:00:45] Collected all the songs the singers know

[00:00:55] Edward Alexander man of action

[00:00:59] Armed only with his reel-to-reel contraption

[00:01:04] One hundred years ago in mac and boots

[00:01:08] Set out to faithfully preserve the region's roots

[00:01:12] And every night in some small village inn

[00:01:17] Fortified with fortitude and gin

[00:01:21] Mr Alexander for a shilling

[00:01:26] Would thus record your song if you were willing

[00:01:30] Would thus record your song if you were willing

[00:01:34] So word got round and soon there formed a queue

[00:01:38] And the line of willing singers grew and grew

[00:01:43] Brass for oohs and aahs You can't go wrong

[00:01:47] When there's someone paying a shilling for a song

[00:01:52] When all his tapes are filled up Edward leaves

[00:01:56] There's a history preserved so he believes

[00:02:00] But all the so-called singers back inside

[00:02:04] They know they took a city scholar for a ride

[00:02:09] They know they took a city scholar for a ride

[00:02:13] For they shook the man for every coin he'd got

[00:02:18] With words and tunes all made up on the spot

[00:02:22] Invented tales not twenty minutes old

[00:02:27] So history like ale is bought and sold

[00:02:31] The old contraption's packed away and boxed

[00:02:35] And a century is marked upon the clock

[00:02:39] So tradition holds that Edward's great collection

[00:02:44] Is honoured with a weekly resurrection

[00:02:49] Honoured with a weekly resurrection

[00:02:58] And now the old Society sing the songs

[00:03:02] Word for word and kept where they belong

[00:03:07] As once again they eulogise the past

[00:03:11] You can hear the ghosts of history laughing last

[00:03:16] You can hear the ghosts of history laughing last