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On Moonlit Heath and Lonesome Bank

from A Shropshire Lad by Shifting Buffalo

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lyrics

On moonlit heath and lonesome bank
The sheep beside me graze;
And yon the gallows used to clank
Fast by the four cross ways.
A careless shepherd once would keep
The flocks by moonlight there,
And high amongst the glimmering sheep
The dead man stood on air.

They hang us now in Shrewsbury jail:
The whistles blow forlorn,
And trains all night groan on the rail
To men that die at morn.
There sleeps in Shrewsbury jail tonight,
Or wakes, as may betide,
A better lad, if things went right,
Than most that sleep outside.

And naked to the hangman’s noose
The morning clocks will ring
A neck God made for other use
Than strangling in a string.
And sharp the link of life will snap,
And dead on air will stand
Heels that held up as straight a chap
As treads upon the land.

So here I’ll watch the night and wait
To see the morning shine,
When he will hear the stroke of eight
And not the stroke of nine;
And wish my friend as sound a sleep
As lads I did not know,
That shepherded the moonlit sheep
A hundred years ago.

credits

from A Shropshire Lad, released November 1, 2019

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Shifting Buffalo Hertfordshire, UK

Shifting Buffalo writes and records lots of stuff. Some of it is available on the internet, either to buy or download free.

Shifting Buffalo regularly indulges in 'immersion composition' (check out www.ics-hub.org) and is an inaugural member of the Burning Lodge.

You can catch Shifting Buffalo playing live from time to time, particularly in the Hertfordshire area. ... more

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