Strawbs – The Battle (Guitar)

                                     Em
In the early dawn the Bishop's men

D               Em
Shivered in the damp

                                 D 
But the shiver came not from the cold

    C                     D
And spread throughout the camp

    A                Em 
The trembling horses sensed the fear

   A                 Em
Of silent thoughtful men

    Am                    Em 
Who prayed that wives and families

      D              Em    C  Em  C
Might see them once again

                                Em
The Bishop sent a dawn patrol

   D                      Em
To investigate the weight

                        D 
Of forces at the King's command

  C                  D
Ensconced behind the gate

    A                   Em 
The ground mist hid the patrol's approach

        A                    Em
As they drew close enough to show

    Am              Em 
The sentries on the battlements

       D               Em    C  Em  C
And an archer drew his bow

                                      Em
From the topmost tower a sentry fell

      D                 Em
As an arrow pierced his skull

                          D 
And his headlong flight into the moat

C                D
Seemed that of a gull

    A               Em 
The patrol reported little

          A               Em
There was nothing much to see

        Am                Em 
But the strong and silent castle

  D             Em    C  Em  C
A symbol of the free

        N.C.           Em
The King's men took communion

N.C.   D  N.C.           Em
As the first rays of the sun

N.C.                D     N.C.
Lit up the chapel's gloomy walls

    C           D
The fatal day begun

         A                Em 
From the castle green the rooks took flight

       A                 Em
To the high trees in the east

         Am                Em 
To their carrion minds the battlefield

      D           Em     C  Em  C
Set a table for a feast

                                    Em
A tide of black, the Bishop's men

D              Em
Equality their right

                   D 
Swarmed like ants across the hill

      C              D
Their aim at last in sight

    A                     Em 
The King's men dressed in purest white

     A              Em
Were driven back by force

        Am                 Em 
And the fighting grew more violent

       D               Em     C  Em  C
As the battle took its course

                             Em
The Bishops gave the order

    D           Em
"No mercy to be shown.

                   D 
The sacrifice will reap rewards 

         C           D
When the King is overthrown"

    A                 Em 
The sight of children lying dead 

     A                 Em
Made hardened soldiers weep

    Am            Em 
The outer walls began to fall

     D                 Em    C  Em  C
They moved towards the keep

                                    Em
The rooks surveyed the battlefield

      D            Em
Their hungry beady eyes

                         D 
Revelled in the sight of death

C             D
Showing no surprise

    A                Em 
The pressure mounted steadily 

       A                  Em
As the Bishops neared the gate

        Am                    Em 
And the desperate King called to his knights

           D            Em      C  Em  C
"It's your lives or the state"

                                     Em
When the anxious King began to fail

   D               Em
As many thought he might

                        D 
The Queen ran screaming round the walls

    C                D
And urged the men to fight

    A                 Em 
The Bishops' men were tiring

       A              Em
As the afternoon grew late

        Am                     Em 
And the King's men lowered the drawbridge

    D                      Em     C  Em  C
And poured out through the gate

                                        Em
They fought their way across the bridge

    D                Em
The men like falling leaves

                     D 
Or ears of corn that fall in swathes

    C              D
The vicious sickle cleaves

    A            Em 
The tide receded up the hill

    A                  Em
The waste of reclaimed land

Am            Em 
Once decaying swamp became

  D                   Em   C  Em  C
A shore of pure white sand

                                    Em
A blinded priest was seen to bless

     D             Em
Both dying and the dead

                          D 
As he stumbled around the battlefield

    C               D
His cassock running red

   A                     Em 
If uniform were black or white

    A                Em
His eyes could never see

    Am               Em 
And death made no distinction

    D           Em   C  Em  C
Whatever man he be

                                     Em 
As darkness fell both camps withdrew

      D                   Em
Their soldiers slain like cattle

                     D 
Leaving the rooks to feast alone

    C              D
The victors of the battle

   F#m          Em 
At evensong the camps reviewed

      F#m          Em
Their sad depleted ranks

      D             C 
As survivors of the battle

     Bm  D              A      
Gave god their grateful thanks