A track from my 2015 studio album Esteesee, inspired by the life and work of the romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Whilst Coleridge was an undergraduate at Cambridge one of the tutors at the college, William Frend, was put on trial for publishing a leaflet condemning much of the liturgy of the Church. There’s a fabulous story that during that trial Coleridge applauded raucously from the balcony, deliberately to enrage the judge, before quickly switching places with a one-armed man who was blamed instead.
At the time Frend and Coleridge were united by the hope that The French Revolution would echo the success of The Glorious Revolution that preceded it.
lyrics
Oh sweet William Frend,
Who can condemn? When,
Oh sweet William Frend,
We stand as equal men?
Oh as equal men,
Oh as equal men,
Oh as equal men!
And oh sweet William Frend,
They’ll not condemn when
They all glorious rise again
And stand as equal men!
Oh as equal men,
Oh as equal men,
Oh as equal men!
Rise and stand for liberty,
Applause will sound in the balcony,
So rise and stand for liberty,
Applause will sound in the balcony,
So rise and stand for liberty of men!
Oh sweet William Frend,
Who can condemn? When,
Oh sweet William Frend,
We stand as equal men!
Oh as equal men,
Oh as equal men,
Oh as equal men!
So rise and stand for liberty,
Applause will sound in the balcony,
So rise and stand for liberty,
Applause will sound in the balcony,
So rise and stand for liberty of men!
credits
from When Christmas Day is Near,
released December 10, 2015
Written and produced by Ange Hardy. Featuring: Ange Hardy (vocals & guitar), Steve Pledger (vocals), Steve Knightley (vocals), Patsy Reid (viola) and Lukas Drinkwater (double bass & vocals).
Nominated for the Horizon Award for best emerging talent at the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Ange Hardy is a folk singer,
songwriter and recording artist from West Somerset, England. Ange performs original contemporary songs written in a traditional style with an emphasis on vocal harmony....more
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