Fairport Convention - Wake Up John The Hanging Song

song : wake up john ( hanging song )
album : babbacombe lee ( 1971 )
artist : fairport convention ( written by dave swarbick and dave pegg )

a capella ( A )

wake up john , it’s time to go come along john and don’t be slow

come along john , don’t be slow wake up john , it’s time to go

wake up john , it’s time to go

intro
Dm a x 7
G D F

verse 1
A F G A
a priest joins the procession just to help me kneel
Bm C#m D Dm
with a warder at my elbow and another at my heel
A F G A
marching in the morning down a path i’ve lately seen
Bm C#m D Dm
i was sleeping in this garden , Am i still within my dream?
A F G A
the echo of my heartbeat is the beating of a drum
Bm C#m D Dm
and all the earth is singing with life’s sweet hum
A F G A
we filed in solemn silence , shuffled through a door
Bm C#m G A
the place where life is taken for the letter of the law

chorus
A D E
shake the holy water , summon up the guard
B A G F#m
dying’s very easy , waiting’s very hard

verse 2
F#m Bm
a rope was hanging from the roof , a sight which puzzles me
F#m B
i thought a gibbet and a guard would make a gallows tree
E G
but now all is revealed , stamped there is the command
A B
my feet are on the trapdoor with a rope around my hand
A F G A
and now the executioner is shaking hands with me
Bm C#m D Dm
“my duty i must carry out , you poor fellow , ” says he
A F G A
a rope is tied around my feet and a bag upon my head
Bm C#m D Dm
and then the noose which separates the living from the dead

chorus

verse 3
F#m Bm
there he whispers to me “have you anything to say?”
F#m Bm
my mouth is dry , my throat is tight , i answer “drop away”
E G
silence now surrounds me , my heart is beating on
A B
the trapdoor hardly moves at all , my life is still my own

violin solo

A F G a x8

A F G A
they stand me in a corner with my hands and feet still bound
Bm C#m D Dm
while a carpenter is called for and an explanation found
A F G A
“the rain has warped the timbers , ” i hear the hangman say
Bm C#m D Dm
“it’s funny but it worked well , i tried it yesterday”
F#m Bm
“all is mended now , ” they say , “your ordeal’s nearly over
F#m B
your life’s as good as ended , ” but i hear their voices waver
E G
once more the bolt is shaken and again i hang in limbo
A B
while the guards jump on the trapdoor and my body stands on tip – toe

chorus

verse 4
A F G A
they stand me in a corner with my hands and feet still tied
Bm C#m D Dm
a warder holds onto the noose , the trapdoor opens wide
A F G A
is it magic or coincidence that keeps me on the brink?
Bm C#m D Dm
it seems to work without me , “will it kill me now?” i think
F#m Bm
“please , i’m tired of living and i really want to die”
F#m B
i was taken to the scaffold and i heard the hangman cry
E G
“lee , i’m truly sorry , forgive these hands of mine”
A B
he threew the bolt and i felt the jolt the third and final time
F#m Bm
my life was spared that morning ’cos it wasn’t theirs to take
F#m B
three’s the most the law requires , a man to feel the stake

chorus x2