The Causes of Rebellion

Words by Astra of the Grey Shadows
To the tune of "Retreat Along the Wabash"


Em (F#m)  G (A)
Where the low hills sit by the foggy bay
        Em
And the ground all shakes with fire;
    G
The high lords sit in council today
Em
Let them consider the price they pay
    G               Em
For calling a man a liar.


With title goes a certain power
And a much more certain schoolin';
A child may play in a castle tower
But the lord who does soon sees the hour
He hasn't a land worth rulin'.

Now there isn't a man but has his doubts
Of the worth of them that rule him;
But the good ones he will not turn out
Unless he finds he's pushed about
Or he thinks they're trying to fool him.

There's many a man in the lands of the East,
A few in the West and Middle,
Who (will) hold that a lord sits last to feast,
Thinks first of his men, their lands, their beasts,
And then of his pride a little.

Now, what a man says and what a man does
Are ruled by law and reason;
But half the cause of all men's fights
What one man calls his natural rights
Another man calls treason.

So take care all you who sit in state
Take care when you come to judge;
The cost of a word in anger is great
But greater still in lasting hate
Is the cost of holding a grudge.

So tell the truth to a lord you trust,
More truth to a lord you hate;
Lie to a lady, if lie you must,
But since the nobles sit far away
    C(D)
And do not heed what the people say
      G                    Em  G
(Oh,) lie, lie, lie to the council,
                    Em
Lie to the heads of state.


Words copyright (c) 1974 by Ann Cass

Another source has words by Hael of the Broken Mask