John Ball was a lollard priest martyred as part of the peasants revolt. He preached a sermon in Billericay, which gives him a local collection. Sydny Carter wrote this song in his honour.
Here's a great version by the
Melrose Quartet
Here's a less great, but simpler,
version by me.
PDF file for printing.
Below is the abc file that you could cut and paste into EasyABC
X: 1
T:Sing John Ball
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Gmaj
|"G"BB GE D3 B,| "C"CD EC "D"D4| "C"B2 GE D2 FG| "D"AG FGA-B "G"c2|
|"G"BB GE D3 B,| "C"CD EC "D"D4| "C"B2 GE D2 FG| "D"AG FGA-B "G"c2|
w:Who will be the la-dy, who will be the lord? When we are ruled by the love of one an o-ther?
|"G"BB GE D3 B,| "C"CD EC "D"D2 DD|"C"E2 CE cB AG| "D"F4 "G"G4|
w:Who will be the la-dy, who will be the lord? In the light that is co-ming in the morn-ing?
w:Chorus
|"D"A2 A2 A3 B| "D"AG FE D4| "D"B2 BBc-B AG| "D"B2- c2 d2 dc|
w:Sing John Ball, and tell it to them all, Long live the day that is_ daw-ning, for I'll
|"G"B2 GE D3 B,| "C"CD EC "D"D2 DD| "C"E2 CE cB AG| "D"F4 "G"G4|
w:crow like a cock, I'll ca-rol like a lark In the light that's co-ming in_ the morn-ing
W:
W:
W:Verse 2
W:Eve is the lady, Adam is the lord, When we are ruled by the love of another,
W:Eve is the lady, Adam is the lord, In the light that is coming in the morning.
W:
W:Verse 3
W:Labour and spin for fellowship I say, Labour and spin for the love of one another.
W:Labour and spin for fellowship I say, In the light that is coming in the morning.
W:
W:Verse 4
W:All shall be ruled by fellowship say, All shall be ruled by the love of one another,
W:All shall be ruled by fellowship I say, In the light that is coming in the morning.