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Who Pays The Piper

  • (Nancy Nicholson)

    Chorus:
    Who pays the piper, who pays the piper
    Who pays the piper, who calls the tune
    Who pays the piper, what is the fee
    Flames on the water, death on the sea

    And the tune is old and has always told
    How the great brave and bold they do flourish
    How bravely they gamble with other men's lives
    And profit as other men perish

    And the tune rings out and is always found
    When the ground receives yet another
    Father of dazed and despairing young bairns
    Or son of a desolate mother

    And the price is dear for the folk who fear
    And who bear the burden of sorrow
    For those who were lost when the graph of the cost
    Crossed the graph of rich pickings tomorrow

    ( as sung by The McCalmans)

Susannes Folksong-Notizen

  • [1990:] A song about the Piper Alpha disaster. After it was all over, after all the fires were put out, the people who own the rig said, Well, we'll spend more money now, we'll make sure this can never happen again. We'll spend more money on safety. And of course nothing really happened. Nancy wrote the song not so much about this one specific disaster but about the dangers of going out to the North Sea to get the oil for people. "He who pays the piper calls the tune" - the person with the money also has a responsibility [???]. And Nancy took that idea, remembering the name of the rig. (Intro McCalmans)

  • [1990:] The money-wells in the North Sea are owned by immensely rich companies and fed by workers' lives. The men off-shore have to watch their tongues or lose their jobs. We can be their voices. (Nancy Nicolson, notes McCalmans 'Flames on the Water')

Quelle: Scotland

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