Verse 1
Down in the Abbey where the cold stones lie
They dug up old Noll in the dead of night
With a lantern, a spade and a Royalist grin
And a warrant signed neat for a post-mortem sin
Dragged him out where the gallows sway
Twenty winters after his judgment day
“Hang the corpse!” cried the drunken crowd
“Justice for the King!” they roared aloud
Chorus
Oh Cromwell beheaded — that’ll teach him well!
Swing the bones and ring the bell!
Dead men dancing on Tyburn rope
Justice served with a gallon of hope
Oh Cromwell beheaded — the crowd all cried
Raise his skull where the ravens glide
England laughs in the freezing rain
And the ghosts all drink to him again
Verse 2
Old Ireton came and Bradshaw too
Three dead rebels in a ghastly queue
The hangman shrugged and pulled the cord
“Never thought I’d string up a Lord.”
The wind blew sharp through the London fog
While the fiddles screeched like a drunken dog
And the headsman wiped off his bloody blade
For a man long gone and a point well made
Chorus
Oh Cromwell beheaded — that’ll teach him well!
Swing the bones and ring the bell!
Dead men dancing on Tyburn rope
Justice served with a gallon of hope
Bridge (spoken / shouted)
Raise your glass boys — history’s a farce!
Kings lose heads and rebels lose arse!
Dig them up and hang them twice —
England always pays the price!
Verse 3
Now the spike on the Hall held a skull in the sky
Watching the centuries staggering by
Kings and parliaments rise and fall
But the wind still laughs round Westminster Hall
And the drinkers sing when the night grows long
Of the man who ruled and the men who were wrong
And the bones all rattle beneath the street
While the fiddles stomp out a rebel beat
Final Chorus (big Pogues roar)
Oh Cromwell beheaded — that’ll teach him well!
Swing the bones and ring the bell!
Dead men dancing on Tyburn rope
England runs on rum and hope
Oh Cromwell beheaded — shout it again!
Kings lose heads and rebels swing
Raise your glass to the crooked crown —
History’s drunk in this old town!
