Joe the Quilt-Maker
Title | Joe the Quilt-Maker |
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Artist | Richard Dawson |
Album | The Glass Trunk |
Release Date | (not set) |
Description | ? |
Lyrics | [Verse 1] A lonely cottage on the mound A century's worth of moss beshrouds Stood trembling and quiet Until it was acquired By canny Joe the quilt-maker He fenced in a patch of land As from the stroke of a magic wand A garden Sprung forth From the hand of Joe the quilt-maker [Verse 2] His cot secure, his flowerbeds neat Glad were his neighbours all to meet And chew the fat And to swallow the coffee Of kindly Joe the quilt-maker Of each he had some good to say Some friendly token to display And seldom few people Could cheer a winter's day Like gregarious Joe the quilt-maker [Verse 3] Beloved by all even the great Forgotten lordess of his day And at the dinner table Sometimes they set a plate For respected Joe the quilt-maker His quilts with country fame were crowned Superbly sewn and dotted around With pretty little figures And cuddy ducks in flight Most ingenious Joe the quilt-maker You might also like[Verse 4] His wife was sick bedridden and old To ease her pain he spent he sold Oh there was never bought Not for silver or for gold Such love as Joe the quilt-maker From dawn til dusk he tenderly nursed The poor old hag grew worse and worse And soon She was lifted to a hearse By heartbroken Joe the quilt-maker [Verse 5] Lost in widowhood's embrace All hope had flown without a trace The home they'd made Soon become a cage For enfeebled Joe the quilt-maker But there were friends who cheered his days Both coin and food they strove to raise And there was always some kind soul Dropping in to say Afternoon to Joe the quilt-maker [Verse 6] The days and months and years rolled by The scales were lifted from his eyes The ground beneath his feet and the Colour in his cheeks Were restored to Joe the quilt-maker Not seeing past the end of his nose Back to the needle he nimbly goed In several of the taverns We raised a cup of ale To courageous Joe the quilt-maker [Verse 7] Often in his solitary berth Through spectacles and godly verse A mirror made of paper Would stare at the reflection Of pious Joe the quilt-maker And thus the autumn of his days In quiet contemplation played Except when he would welcome A wandering stray Most hospitable Joe the quilt-maker [Verse 8] From which dark source it cannot be said Somehow the bogus rumour spread That never in Hexham There'd been a richer man Than impoverished Joe the quilt-maker Strolling round the market square A smiling pilgrim unaware The devil's in the doorway Of the old moot hall With his eyes fixed on the doomed quilt-maker [Verse 9] I found a pair of clogs in the lane Some drops of blood where they had lain And following the breadcrumbs I came upon the dreadful Remains of Joe the quilt-maker It must have been a number of days The fat black flies were on his face I fainted in a flowerbed And threw up on the bright yellow Poppies of Joe the quilt-maker [Verse 10] Judging from the wounds on his hands It's fair to assume a most valiant stand Was met by his assailants And fought out to the very last breath Of Joe the quilt-maker It's thought they numbered two or three The evidence was plain to see A bowed and bloody coal-rake And a garden hoe sticky with the Grey hair of Joe the quilt-maker [Verse 11] Despite a hundred Guinea reward The culprits have remained uncaught And nobody is looking Each other in the eyes At the funeral of Joe the quilt-maker And now that night is drawing in I pull the quilt up to my chin And listen to the trees outside Creaking in the wind A song for Joe the quilt-maker |