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Black and White

[Ewan MacColl]

Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl sang MacColl’s song Black and White in 1973 on their Folkways album Folkways Record of Contemporary Songs. Peggy Seeger sang the first two lines and Ewan MacCool sang the last two lines of each verse, except for the last verse which they sang together. They noted:

Written at the time of Sharpeville Massacre, this song still speaks for the plight of African Blacks in their own countries.

An earlier, 1972 recording of Ewan MacColl singing Black and White was released in 1990 as the title track of his Cooking Vinyl album Black and White.

Mick Growes sang Black and White on his 2004 album of songs of Ewan MacColl Fellow Journeyman. The Liverpool Spinners sang it live in Liverpool’s Music Room in May 2018. The recording of this concert was released in the same year on their double CD Legends.

Kerry Smith sang Black and White on her 2025 album When You Sing You Drive Away Grief.

Lyrics

Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl sing Black and White

The apples ripe upon the bow
The orange on the tree
The hands were black that picked the fruit
For you, but not for me

Diamonds shining in the rock
Gleaming white and blue
Ten hours a day in the diamond mines
For me, but not for you

A sea of grass and mountain ranges
Beckoning the free
A place to walk with head held high
For you, but not for me

The burning sun of Africa
The sky that’s always blue
Apartheid and the pass laws
For me, but not for you

A big land, a rich land
Stretched from sea to sea
And all the riches of the earth
For you, but not for me

A big land, a gracious land
A land where old meets new
The bullets fired at Sharpville were
For me, but not for you

You’ve planted seeds of fear and hate
In all who would be free
At harvest time the fruit will be
For you, and not for me