Recently I have been enjoying listening to songs by Ewan MacColl, who was a Scottish folk singer. He wrote a beautiful song about a man stuck in prison, who feels like time is passing painfully slowly. He looks out of the window and dreams of escaping over the prison wall, if only he could fly. He hopes that someone will write a letter to him. But they will have to write the letter to his prison number instead of using his name.
Ewan MacColl recorded music from the 1930s to the 1980s. I have copied the lyrics to his song below, and explained some of the vocabulary underneath. A “lag” is British slang for a man in prison.
The Lag’s Song
When I was a young lad sometimes I’d wonder,
What happened to time when it passed?
Then I found out one day that time just lands in prison,
And there it is held fast.
When I was a young man I used to go courting,
And dream of the moon and the stars.
The moon is still shining, the dreams they are all broken,
On these hard iron bars.
Look out of the window over the roofs there,
And over the walls see the sky.
Just one flying leap and you could make your getaway,
If only you could fly.
The prison is sleeping, the night watch is keeping,
It’s watch over 700men.
And behind every cell door a sleeping lag is dreaming,
Oh to be free again.
Go write me a letter addressed to my number,
But say you remember my name,
So I’ll be reminded of how the world goes,
And feel a man again.
Got time on my hands, I’ve got time on my shoulder,
Got plenty of time on my mind.
There’s no summer or winter when once you land here,
Just that old prison grind.
Vocabulary:
to go courting – to go on dates; to try to attract a romantic partner
bars – in a prison, the line of metal poles that you can see past, but cannot walk beyond
a getaway – an escape
a cell – in a prison, the small rooms that prisoners sleep in
a grind – a tough, dispiriting routine (for example, on Monday, I will have to go back to work and the daily grind)
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