Scarecrow

[John Tams]

John Tams sang his own song Scarecrow in 1986 as the title track of Home Service’s LP Alright Jack. A live recording from the same year was released in 2011 on their Fledg’ling CD Live 1986.

The John Tams Band also sang Scarecrow at the Sidmouth International Festival 1999. This recording was included in 2004 on the anthology Folk Festival Sidmouth.

Debra Cowan sang Scarecrow in 2019 on her CD Greening the Dark.

Lyrics

Home Service sing Scarecrow

I see the barley moving as the mowers find their pace
I see the line advancing with a steady timeless grace
And there’s passion in their eyes and there’s honour in their face
As they scythe down the castles and the courts

Chorus (after each verse):
Blame it on the fathers, blame it on the sons
Blame it on the poppies and the pain
Blame it on the generals, blame it on their guns
Blame it on the scarecrow in the rain

I smell the smoke of stubble when the harvest is brought down
I see the fire a-burning as it purges all around
And the field is turned to ashes and the only living sound
Are the skylarks as they try to reach the sun

I see the barbed wire growing like a bramble on the land
I see a farm turned to a fortress and a future turn to sand
I see a meadow turn to mud and from it grows a hand
Like a scarecrow that is fallen in the rain