I'm cutting up her pure white dress That I dyed red That I dyed red I'm putting scraps in cheap tin lockets What time erases and memory mocks I'll send them over the ocean foam Right into those gentle European homes
The slave ship "Blessing" slipped from Liverpool Over the waves the Royal Navy rules To go and plunder the Kingdom of Benin Where certain history ends and shame begins Dahomey traders paid in powder and shot Line up their prisoners and they sell them in lots They packed them tight inside those coffin ships And took them to the brand new world of auction blocks and whips I'm cutting up her pure white dress That I dyed red That I dyed red I'm putting scraps in cheap tin lockets What time erases and memory mocks I'll send them over the ocean foam Right into those gentle European homes White is the sheet on your fine linen bed The blood stained red on each cotton thread Merchants will gather at St. George's Hall To unveil the kneeling slave who is carved upon the wall
So picture the scene on the Old Salt House docks Where they loaded the iron shackles and locks Between a sandstone crocodile, a barrel and a bale You will see the nameless faces they were offering for sale
So, I sing the praises of God's glory As a blue cetacean floats in the basement An elephant on the second storey They queue all day to see him In my American Museum
But the Lord will judge us with fire and thunder As man continues in all his blunders It's only money It's only numbers Maybe it is time to put aside these fictitious wonders
But man is feeble Man is puny And if it should divide the Union There is no man that should own another When he can't even recognise his sister and his brother
[00:15.02]I'm cutting up her pure white dress [00:22.67]That I dyed red [00:26.44]That I dyed red [00:30.17]I'm putting scraps in cheap tin lockets [00:37.29]What time erases and memory mocks [00:45.22]I'll send them over the ocean foam [00:52.62]Right into those gentle European homes [01:02.43] [01:06.82]The slave ship "Blessing" slipped from Liverpool [01:13.63]Over the waves the Royal Navy rules [01:20.38]To go and plunder the Kingdom of Benin [01:26.45]Where certain history ends and shame begins [01:33.75]Dahomey traders paid in powder and shot [01:41.03]Line up their prisoners and they sell them in lots [01:47.81]They packed them tight inside those coffin ships [01:53.35]And took them to the brand new world of [01:57.89]auction blocks and whips [02:02.28]I'm cutting up her pure white dress [02:09.87]That I dyed red [02:13.54]That I dyed red [02:17.40]I'm putting scraps in cheap tin lockets [02:24.46]What time erases and memory mocks [02:31.92]I'll send them over the ocean foam [02:39.72]Right into those gentle European homes [02:50.10]White is the sheet on your fine linen bed [02:56.41]The blood stained red on each cotton thread [03:03.69]Merchants will gather at St. George's Hall [03:09.23]To unveil the kneeling slave who is carved upon the wall [03:16.93] [03:19.48]So picture the scene on the Old Salt House docks [03:26.04]Where they loaded the iron shackles and locks [03:32.45]Between a sandstone crocodile, a barrel and a bale [03:38.45]You will see the nameless faces they were offering for sale [03:48.03] [03:50.52]So, I sing the praises of God's glory [03:57.70]As a blue cetacean floats in the basement [04:04.60]An elephant on the second storey [04:12.19]They queue all day to see him [04:15.61]In my American Museum [04:21.12] [04:24.64]But the Lord will judge us with fire and thunder [04:31.89]As man continues in all his blunders [04:39.04]It's only money [04:42.53]It's only numbers [04:46.16]Maybe it is time to put aside these fictitious wonders [04:56.30] [04:58.98]But man is feeble [05:02.89]Man is puny [05:06.68]And if it should divide the Union [05:14.34]There is no man that should own another [05:21.65]When he can't even recognise his sister and his brother [05:32.82]
