Song to the Men of England by Percy Bysshe Shelley [with text] - Read by Poet Arthur L Wood

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A powerful poem by Percy Shelley calling on the men of England to rise up against their oppressors.
“Men of England, wherefore plough
For the lords who lay ye low?
Wherefore weave with toil and care
The rich robes your tyrants wear?
Wherefore feed and clothe and save
From the cradle to the grave
Those ungrateful drones who would
Drain your sweat-nay, drink your blood?
Wherefore, Bees of England, forge
Many a weapon, chain, and scourge,
That these stingless drones may spoil
The forced produce of your toil?
Have ye leisure, comfort, calm,
Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm?
Or what is it ye buy so dear
With your pain and with your fear? …
Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells-
In hall ye deck another dwells.
Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see
The steel ye tempered glance on ye.
With plough and spade and hoe and loom
Trace your grave and build your tomb
And weave your winding-sheet-till fair
England be your Sepulchre.”
#Shelley #PercyShelley #ArthurLWood

[@janinejohnstone468]

Hey, he was as revolutionary as Byron! I never knew that.

[@leastone9600]

Stirring words indeed. Good choice on the anniversary of Shelley's expulsion from Oxford :)

[@ArthurLWood]

I did not realise it was the anniversary of that essential date in the history of poetry!

[@leastone9600]

@@ArthurLWood Yes, for his 'Necessity of Atheism'. Of course, University College installed a lavish monument to the bad boy after his death. Men of England, eh? 😁

[@GoatofJersey]

Your reading is so well done…

[@rosiejack9069]

Stirring powerful poetry. Great reading. Thank you 🙏

[@Wilsonn_esquire]

Top stuff, sir. I very much love what you’ve got going and what you’re striving for.

[@exildoc]

So do I

[@floriandiazpesantes573]

Clear words, and admirably put into powerful, majestic and beautiful verses. But they didn’t change the basic rules. The ones on top are very able to keep the underlings from rebellion. Not necessarily by brutal force anymore but by distraction. But the oppressed are from the same kind as the oppressors. Fear and greed and badly employed intelligence rule us all. Even if Shelley hasn’t made the world a better place, he’s left some beautiful verses behind. More we can’t ask for.

[@janinejohnstone468]

I thinnk brute force is possible as well, since they took advantage of the covid situation.

[@jakobsmith4046]

Was basically talking about the labour theory of value before Marx

[@ArthurLWood]

Shelley’s ‘Masque of Anarchy’ is also worth listening to. I have it recorded on my channel.

[@laoshu8311]

I like your current reading style a lot. I also applaud you for trying new things like the music though I think it is a little too dominant. Maybe ducking would work better to accentuate only certain passages?

[@ArthurLWood]

You make a good point. Unfortunately I live in a very noisy block of flats and the only way I can mask the noise of my neighbours is with the music - and believe me I have tried everything! Sometimes they aren't banging about and I can record without the worry, but not tonight. I didn't want to use music on this particular video, but it does help cover over the background noise, and I suppose it does add something - the poem is supposed to be a 'song' after all, and quite relevant with Beethoven/Haydn - the old order giving way to the new etc. I did also quite enjoy mixing Beethoven's 3rd Symphony with Haydn's 99th. I am wondering if any classical music aficionados notice!

[@laoshu8311]

@@ArthurLWood Thanks for sharing your situation with us, you really did manage to get out something beautiful out of this.