Red And Gold
Fairport Convention Lyrics

Red and gold are royal colors
Red and gold are colors of royalty and power.

Peasant colours are green and brown
Peasant colors are more natural and earthy, like green and brown.

Green is the corn in the brown earth when it's growing
Green is the color of growing corn in the brown earth.

Red and gold when the harvest is cut down.
Red and gold are the colors of harvested crops.

Through Cropredy in Oxfordshire the Cherwell takes its course
The Cherwell river flows through Cropredy in Oxfordshire.

And the willows weep into its waters clear
The willow trees growing by the river shed their leaves into the clear water.

My name it is Will Tims and it's here that I was born
The singer's name is Will Tims and he was born in Cropredy.

And raised in faith my King and God to fear.
He was raised to fear his King and God in religious faith.

In 1644 the King in Oxford Town did dwell
In 1644, King Charles I resided in Oxford Town.

Though we'd heard that Cromwell's army was nearby
They knew that Cromwell's army was close by.

It did not occur to me that little Cropredy
He did not expect that Cropredy would be a witness to the meeting of both armies.

Could be witness to the meeting of both sides
Cropredy was the site where both armies met.

On June the 29th that year I was about my work
On June 29th, the singer was working.

Cutting hedges in the meadow by the stream
He was cutting hedges in a meadow near the river.

My blade slipped, I cut my hand and my own dear blood did flow
He accidentally cut his own hand and bled.

Upon the brown earth and the corn still green
His blood stained the brown earth and the growing corn.

Now it did distress me so to watch my own blood flow
The sight of his own blood made him distressed.

And quickly soak into the greedy ground
His blood quickly soaked into the earth.

In red and gold my colors swam and sweat broke on my brow
The colors of his blood were red and gold, and he was sweating and fainting from the sight.

And faint I knew that I must lay me down
He felt faint and knew he had to lie down.

At first I thought the thundering was just inside my head
He first thought the sound of the battle was in his mind.

So I raised myself above the hedge to see
He stood up to look over the hedge.

And I watched as in a dream as the armies fought downstream
He watched the battle of the armies fighting downstream, as if in a dream.

The battle for the bridge at Cropredy
The armies were fighting for control of the bridge at Cropredy.

Now the King's men fought in red and gold though
The King's army wore red and gold colors.

Cromwell's men were plainer
Cromwell's army had simpler uniforms.

The blood they spilled was coloured just the same
Despite the different uniforms, both armies' blood looked the same.

Through the hedgerow's fragile cover I saw brother killing brother
The artist saw members of the same family fighting and killing each other from behind the hedge.

And all of this was done in Jesus' name
The soldiers were fighting in the name of Jesus and religion.

All that day and all the next the battle it was raging
The battle continued for two days.

Though when darkness came I slipped away
The singer left when it got dark.

But the crying of the dying kept me wakeful and just lying
He could not sleep due to the sounds of dying soldiers.

In my bed until the dawning of the day
He stayed up in bed until morning.

And the dreams I had were red and gold
In his dreams, he saw the colors of blood and riches.

And the little stream became a flood
The small stream became a flood in his dreams.

From all my brothers killing one another
The dreams were caused by the sight of soldiers, who were like brothers, killing each other.

Till waking I realised it was all my own dear blood
When he woke up, he realized it was all his own blood he had seen in his dreams.

Some were buried in the church and some just where they fell
Some soldiers were buried in the churchyard, while others were left where they fell.

With no markers to declare their place of rest
Their graves were unmarked.

But the poppies they do grow where they were never sown
Poppies grow in the fields where the soldiers fell, even though they were not planted there.

And to my mind they do declare it best
The poppies are a reminder of the soldiers who died there.

And each year when the green corn once again turns into gold
Each year, the growing corn changes color from green to gold.

And the poppies in the field again remind me
The poppies in the field remind him of the soldiers who died there.

Like the scar upon my hand and the blood spilled on this land
The scar on his hand and his blood spilled on the ground are a reminder of the battle.

And the hungry earth so eager to confine me
The earth, which took in his blood, is ready to take him in as well when he dies.

For red and gold they are the colours
Red and gold are the colors of blood and power.

One is blood and one is power
Red represents blood, while gold represents power.

Though I may find my rest in Cropredy Church
The artist may be buried in the church at Cropredy.

In golden fields forever will spring the poppy flower
Poppies will continue to grow in the golden fields forever.

By Cropredy the Cherwell is still bidden to keep flowing
The Cherwell river is still flowing by Cropredy.

And the willows by its side still gently weep
The willow trees by the river still shed their leaves.

But still in restless dreams by this most peaceful stream
He still has restless dreams by the peaceful river.

The poppies wake me from my rightful sleep
The poppies wake him up from his peaceful sleep.