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Peterloo / The Triumph of Liberty

Laura Smyth, Brian Peters and Pete Coe sang The Triumph of Liberty on their 2019 album The Road to Peterloo. They noted:

First appearing in the radical periodical, The Medusa, these poetic verses continued to be printed on broadsides published by Harkness of Preston and Jacques of Manchester, both of whom were in operation in the 1840s—a clear indication that the memory of Peterloo and demands for liberty, equal rights and laws were still on the agenda when Chartism was at its peak. Set to a tune written by Laura.

Seb Stone sings Peterloo on his 2024 album Young Tamlyn’s Away. He noted:

The text, also known as The Triumph of Liberty, comes from a broadside dating to the weeks after the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester in 1819, at which 18 people were killed. The tune (and most of the harmony) is based on that of a Christmas carol from Eyam, in Derbyshire, written by Richard Furness around the same time as the text. I put this together when the anti-protest Police and Crime bill was being put through parliament in 2022, while considering the relevance of this 200-year-old text.

Culverake sang Peterloo on their 2025 album Unto the Sky. They noted:

This broadside was written in the aftermath of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, a peaceful demonstration of 60,000 men women and children, into which the cavalry were sent. 18 people were killed and hundreds were wounded. We found it in Alison Morgan’s book Ballads and Songs of Peterloo. The tune is a reworking of a Christmas carol from Eyam, Derbyshire, written by Richard Furness around the same time. It is shocking that our right to protest in this country is still under such threat two centuries on.

Lyrics

Seb Stone sings Peterloo

See! See! Where freedom’s noblest champion stands,
And shout! And shout! Illustrious patriot band,
Here grateful millions their generous tribute bring,
And shouts for freedom make the welkin ring,
While fell corruption and her hellish crew
The blood-stained trophies gained at Peterloo.

Soon shall fair freedom’s sons their right regain,
Soon shall all Europe join the hallowed strain,
Of Liberty and Freedom, Equal Rights and Laws
Heaven’s choicest blessing crown this glorious cause,
While meanly tyrants, crawling minions, too,
Tremble at their feats performed on Peterloo.

Britons be firm assert your rights, be bold,
Perish like heroes not like slaves be sold,
Firmly unite, bid millions be free,
Will to your children glorious liberty,
While cowards—despots long may keep in view,
And silent contemplate, the deeds on Peterloo.