You noble Diggers all, stand up now, stand up now,
You noble Diggers all, stand up now,
The wast land to maintain, seeing Cavaliers by name
Your digging does maintain, and persons all defame
Stand up now, stand up now.
Your houses they pull down, stand up now, stand up now,
Your houses they pull down, stand up now.
Your houses they pull down to fright your men in town,
But the gentry must come down, and the poor shall wear the crown.
Stand up now, Diggers all.
With spades and hoes and plowes, stand up now, stand up now,
With spades and hoes and plowes stand up now,
Your freedom to uphold, seeing Cavaliers are bold
To kill you if they could, and rights from you to hold.
Stand up now, Diggers all.
Theire self-will is theire law, stand up now, stand up now
Theire self-will is theire law, stand up now.
Since tyranny came in they count it now no sin
To make a gaole a gin, to serve poor men therein.
Stand up now, Diggers all.
The gentrye are all round, stand up now, stand up now,
The gentrye are all round, stand up now.
The gentrye are all round, on each side they are found,
Theire wisdom's so profound, to cheat us of our ground.
Stand up now, stand up now.
The lawyers they conjoyne, stand up now, stand up now,
The lawyers they conjoyne, stand up now,
To arrest you they advise, such fury they devise,
The devill in them lies, and hath blinded both their eyes.
Stand up now, stand up now.
The clergy they come in, stand up now, stand up now,
The clergy they come in, stand up now.
The clergy they come in, and say it is a sin
That we should now begin, our freedom for to win.
Stand up now, Diggers all.
The tithe they yet will have, stand up now,stand up now,
The tithes they yet will have, stand up now.
The tithes they yet will have, and lawyers their fees crave,
And this they say is brave, to make the poor their slave.
Stand up now, Diggers all.
'Gainst lawyers and gainst Priests, stand up now,stand up now,
'Gainst lawyers and gainst Priests stand up now.
For tyrants they are both even flatt against their oath,
To grant us they are loath free meat and drink and cloth.
Stand up now, Diggers all.
The club is all their law, stand up now, stand up now,
The club is all their law, stand up now.
The club is all their law to keep men in awe,
Buth they no vision saw to maintain such a law.
Stand up now, Diggers all.
The Cavaleers are foes, stand up now, stand up now,
The Cavaleers are foes, stand up now;
The Cavaleers are foes, themselves they do disclose
By verses not in prose to please the singing boyes.
Stand up now, Diggers all.
To conquer them by love, come in now, come in now,
To conquer them by love, come in now;
To conquer them by love, as it does you behove,
For he is King above, noe power is like to love,
Glory heere, Diggers all.
abc | midi | pdf
Source: B:Palmer, R, A Ballad History of England, BT Batsford Ltd, 1979
Notes:
Roy Palmer's notes follow:
Despite the execution of Charles I, the abolition of the House of Lords, and the proclamation of the Republic or Commonwealth in the first half of 1649, there was a groundswell of radical opinion directed against Cromwell and his policies. In the army the Leveller movement culminated in insurrection, which was crushed (May). Among the casualties were three soldiers executed at Burford in Oxfordshire. (These did not include Anthony Sedley, who scratched his name on the font while imprisoned in the church.)
Meanwhile, the Diggers were making a more peaceful protest by 'occupying', as we
might now put it, St George's Hill on 1 April. This was common land, near Weybridge in Surrey, and the Diggers' intention was to cultivate it by joint labour. Despite harassment by Cromwell's officers and local landlords, the Diggers struggled on until 1651 before their movement faded out. St George's Hill is now a highly select residential area in stockbroker country.
Gerard Winstanley's Diggers' Song remained in manuscript until 1894, when it was
published by the Camden Society. No tune was indicated, but it is clear from the metre which was meant: a version of the family of tunes later used for Jack Hall, Captain Kidd and Admiral Benbow. Its earliest appearance in print seems to have been 1714, in the version used here.
See also The Religion of Gerrard Winstanley and Digger Communism by Donald R. Sutherland. "This M.A. Thesis (University of Virginia) presents a short history of the movement and a detailed discussion about the different interpretations offered by historians of Winsta[n]ley's ideas." (Gerrard Winstanley - Index). Cromwell and Communism seems to be interesting, where "The Digger's Song" is quoted.
Roud: 10189 (Search Roud index at VWML)
Laws:
Child:
Related Songs: Admiral Benbow (structural) Captain Kid's Farewell to the Seas (structural) Davy Lowston (structural) Jack Hall (structural)