Jilson Setters composed and set to tune this ballad and sang it at the
American Folk Song Festival in June, 1941, to the delight of a vast
audience. To the surprise of some he pronounces the word bomb, _bum_,
like his early English ancestors.
Eight years ago I took a trip,
I decided to cross the sea;
I spent some weeks in London,
Everything was strange to me.
The city then was perfect peace,
They had no thought of fear,
Soon then the bombs began to fall,
The airplanes hovered near.
The people cannot rest at night,
Danger lingers nigh,
Bombs have dropped on many homes,
The innocent had to die.
The flying glass cut off their heads,
Their hands and noses too;
Folks then had to stand their ground,
There was nothing else to do.
English folks are brave and true,
But do not want to fight.
The Germans slip into their town
And bomb their homes at night.
They watch the palace of the King,
They watch it night and day;
They have a strong and daring guard
To keep the foe at bay.
--Jilson Setters
The aged fiddler also composed and set to tune the following ballad
called--