NOBLE SPIRIT
He was laid low in an earthen bed, covered with sod and left for dead
Sugarcane lay till the time was right silent through the winter’s night
Then the sun rose warm and the rains came down, green shoots bursting from the ground
Rising up from his narrow bed, resurrected from the dead.
Oh Noble Spirit, Noble Spirit is your name
We’ll have a sup when you rise up from the heart of the sugarcane.
In the summer sun the shoots grew high, mighty spears up to the sky.
Sugarcane stood there in his prime when his enemies cut him from behind.
Machetes in hand they laid him down, hauled him to the mill at the edge of town
Crushed his bones ‘til his heart’s blood flowed for every last drop they pressed him low
Oh Noble Spirit, Noble Spirit is your name.
We’ll have a sup when you rise up from the heart of the sugarcane.
He was boiled. He was drowned; fired in still, Kept in a barrel against his will
When time had passed again they found you’ll never keep the Noble Spirit down.
Noble Spirit and his brothers were sent to sea to do their service in the king’s navy.
Nelson’s Blood for the sailor crew. Noble Spirit served the captain, too.
Oh Noble Spirit, Noble Spirit is your name.
We’ll have a sup when you rise up from the heart of the sugarcane.
On the raging sea or the quiet land Noble Spirit is a steady hand.
The golden presence in the hall of kings, he makes the faint of heart to sing.
Toasts a wedding, celebrates a birth, honours the dead lying in the earth
So fill your glass and raise it high to the Noble Spirit who never dies.
Oh Noble Spirit, Noble Spirit is your name.
We’ll have a sup when you rise up from the heart of the sugarcane.
©2018 Linda Bandelier
Inspired by a chance meeting with a rum distiller, I searched for traditional songs about rum, thinking I'd find something like the Ballad of John Barleycorn for Scotch whisky. I discovered many songs featuring rum, the sea, heartache and drunkenness but none telling the story of how rum the Noble Spirit came to be. It was a song waiting for me to write it.
He was laid low in an earthen bed, covered with sod and left for dead
Sugarcane lay till the time was right silent through the winter’s night
Then the sun rose warm and the rains came down, green shoots bursting from the ground
Rising up from his narrow bed, resurrected from the dead.
Oh Noble Spirit, Noble Spirit is your name
We’ll have a sup when you rise up from the heart of the sugarcane.
In the summer sun the shoots grew high, mighty spears up to the sky.
Sugarcane stood there in his prime when his enemies cut him from behind.
Machetes in hand they laid him down, hauled him to the mill at the edge of town
Crushed his bones ‘til his heart’s blood flowed for every last drop they pressed him low
Oh Noble Spirit, Noble Spirit is your name.
We’ll have a sup when you rise up from the heart of the sugarcane.
He was boiled. He was drowned; fired in still, Kept in a barrel against his will
When time had passed again they found you’ll never keep the Noble Spirit down.
Noble Spirit and his brothers were sent to sea to do their service in the king’s navy.
Nelson’s Blood for the sailor crew. Noble Spirit served the captain, too.
Oh Noble Spirit, Noble Spirit is your name.
We’ll have a sup when you rise up from the heart of the sugarcane.
On the raging sea or the quiet land Noble Spirit is a steady hand.
The golden presence in the hall of kings, he makes the faint of heart to sing.
Toasts a wedding, celebrates a birth, honours the dead lying in the earth
So fill your glass and raise it high to the Noble Spirit who never dies.
Oh Noble Spirit, Noble Spirit is your name.
We’ll have a sup when you rise up from the heart of the sugarcane.
©2018 Linda Bandelier
Inspired by a chance meeting with a rum distiller, I searched for traditional songs about rum, thinking I'd find something like the Ballad of John Barleycorn for Scotch whisky. I discovered many songs featuring rum, the sea, heartache and drunkenness but none telling the story of how rum the Noble Spirit came to be. It was a song waiting for me to write it.