The Battle

	  		
  
  
Intro: C Em  C Em 
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In the early dawn the Bishop's men 
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Shivered in the damp 
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But the shiver came not from the cold 
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And spread throughout the camp 
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The trembling horses sensed the fear 
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Of silent thoughtful men 
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Who prayed that wives and families 
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Might see them once again 
  
  
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The Bishop sent a dawn patrol 
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To investigate the weight 
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Of forces at the King's command 
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Ensconced behind the gate 
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The ground mist hid the patrol's approach 
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As they drew close enough to show 
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The sentries on the battlements 
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And an archer drew his bow 
  
  
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From the topmost tower a sentry fell 
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As an arrow pierced his skull 
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And his headlong flight into the moat 
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Seemed that of a gull 
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The patrol reported little 
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There was nothing much to see 
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But the strong and silent castle 
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A symbol of the free 
  
  
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The King's men took communion 
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As the first rays of the sun 
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Lit up the chapel's gloomy walls 
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The fatal day begun 
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From the castle green the rooks took flight 
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To the high trees in the east 
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To their carrion minds the battlefield 
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Set a table for a feast 
  
  
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A tide of black, the Bishop's men 
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Equality their right 
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Swarmed like ants across the hill 
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Their aim at last in sight 
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The King's men dressed in purest white 
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Were driven back by force 
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And the fighting grew more violent 
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As the battle took its course 
  
  
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The Bishops gave the order 
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"No mercy to be shown. 
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The sacrifice will reap rewards  
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When the King is overthrown" 
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The sight of children lying dead  
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Made hardened soldiers weep 
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The outer walls began to fall 
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They moved towards the keep 
  
  
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The rooks surveyed the battlefield 
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Their hungry beady eyes 
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Revelled in the sight of death 
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Showing no surprise 
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The pressure mounted steadily  
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As the Bishops neared the gate 
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And the desperate King called to his knights 
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"It's your lives or the state" 
  
  
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When the anxious King began to fail 
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As many thought he might 
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The Queen ran screaming round the walls 
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And urged the men to fight 
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The Bishops' men were tiring 
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As the afternoon grew late 
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And the King's men lowered the drawbridge 
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And poured out through the gate 
  
  
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They fought their way across the bridge 
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The men like falling leaves 
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Or ears of corn that fall in swathes 
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The vicious sickle cleaves 
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The tide receded up the hill 
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The waste of reclaimed land 
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Once decaying swamp became 
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A shore of pure white sand 
  
  
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A blinded priest was seen to bless 
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Both dying and the dead 
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As he stumbled around the battlefield 
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His cassock running red 
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If uniform were black or white 
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His eyes could never see 
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And death made no distinction 
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Whatever man he be 
  
  
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As darkness fell both camps withdrew 
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Their soldiers slain like cattle 
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Leaving the rooks to feast alone 
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The victors of the battle 
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At evensong the camps reviewed 
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Their sad depleted ranks 
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As survivors of the battle 
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Gave god their grateful thanks