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lyrics

Home Boys
©Tim Harrison and Second Avenue Songs 2001


It was from England that I came
On a ship laden with blame
For the bloody, dirty need
Made by industry’s new greed

We came in from the country side
To find work in the city slime
Where fathers broke sons’ arms
So they’d fit the beggars’ charms

It was the work house for us all
And like cattle in a stall
Fathers, mothers, daughters, sons
Were separated and undone

The righteous thought it best
To rid London of its pests
So we were plucked for God’s bouquet
One hundred thousand sent away

And they called us home boys
A bitter irony
They called us home boys
As they put us out to sea
They called us home boys
As they broke our families
But Home Boy that’s no fitting name for me

And those of us who did not die
On the briny ocean wide
All landed over here
To Canada land of our fear


We were sent out then to work
For stoop labor and a perk
For the landowners who knew
That we did not get to choose

Bridge:

And I was sent out to Ontario
And worked a farm through the rain and the wind and snow
And what I learned put innocence to shame
For things that happened there cannot be given any name

And is this the only way
We can deal with poverty
Some live in wrack and ruin
And some live in luxury

The rich and poor they struggle
Though there’s lots to go around
Still we scatter one another
Just like dry leaves on the ground

credits

from Wheatfield With Crows, released January 1, 2002

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Tim Harrison Owen Sound, Ontario

Biography
Tim Harrison has worked as an artist, songwriter, and as a creator of arts events.. Along with founding the Owen Sound Summerfolk Festival,Tim has been Artistic Director of the Mariposa, Northwind, and Eaglewood Folk Festivals, and the Big Fish Music Fest.
Tim has released eight highly acclaimed recordings of original material and has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada. ... more

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