They released their first album, Weave & Spin in 2011, and their second, Mayday, in 2013. Their third album, Cycle, was released in October 2016
Palaces of Gold
Lady Maisery Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And judges' private daughters,
Had to got to school in a slum school,
Dumped by some joker in a damp back alley,
Had to herd into classrooms cramped with worry,
With a view onto slagheaps and stagnant pools,
Had to file through corridors grey with age,
And play in a crackpot concrete cage.
(after each verse):
Buttons would be pressed,
Rules would be broken.
Strings would be pulled
And magic words spoken.
Invisible fingers would mould
Palaces of gold.
If prime ministers and advertising executives,
Royal personages and bank managers' wives
Had to live out their lives in dank rooms,
Blinded by smoke and the foul air of sewers.
Rot on the walls and rats in the cellars,
In rows of dumb houses like mouldering tombs.
Had to bring up their children and watch them grow
In a wasteland of dead streets where nothing will grow.
I'm not suggesting any kind of a plot,
Everyone knows there's not,
But you unborn millions might like to be warned
That if you don't want to be buried alive by slagheaps,
Pit-falls and damp walls and rat-traps and dead streets,
Arrange to be democratically born
The son of a company director
Or a judge's fine and private daughter.
Lady Maisery's song "Palaces of Gold" questions the social inequalities present in our society. The lyrics draw attention to the fact that if children of directors and judges had to go to schools in slums and live in damp and dark rooms, the society would have pushed the panic button to fix things overnight, as they have access to wealth and power. However, the same treatment is not meted out to those living in poverty. The song further emphasizes that the living conditions of people should not be based on their family's wealth or their social standing. Lady Maisery further points out that children growing up in poverty are just as human as those born with silver spoons.
The song's lyrics further talk about living in the squalor of a junkyard and being confined to play in a dingy concrete space. Lady Maisery makes a strong point that living conditions define human value in the eyes of the society. The song also amplifies the idea that social divisions are deeply ingrained in the society and need to be addressed.
Fact 1: Lady Maisery is an English folk band comprising Hannah James, Hazel Askew, and Rowan Rheingans.
Fact 2: “Palaces of Gold” is one of their most successful songs, and it appeared on their 2016 album, “Cycle.”
Fact 3: The song was originally written in 1985 by Leon Rosselson, a British folk singer and songwriter.
Fact 4: Rosselson wrote the song as a response to the Ridley Report, which was a UK government document suggesting the closure of coal-mines.
Fact 5: The song was initially recorded in 1986 by Roy Bailey, a folk singer from Sheffield.
Fact 6: “Palaces of Gold” was written during the 1980s when the UK was experiencing high unemployment and social tensions as a result of Margaret Thatcher's policies.
Fact 7: The song echoes the ideas of the British Marxist historian E.P. Thompson, who wrote about the importance of class and social identity.
Fact 8: Lady Maisery's cover of "Palaces of Gold" was nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award in 2017.
Fact 9: Lady Maisery's version of the song features a cappella and several folk instruments such as the fiddle and the accordion.
Fact 10: The song's theme resonates with the current global scenario, bringing to light the need for eradicating poverty and social inequality.
Chords (source: ultimate-guitar.com):
Verse:
Dm F C Dm
Dm F C Dm
Dm F C Dm
Dm F C Dm
Chorus:
Gm Bb F Am
Gm Bb F Am
Gm Bb F Am
Gm Bb F Am
Line by Line Meaning
If the sons of company directors,
If privileged individuals from wealthy families, specifically male offspring of business executives,
And judges' private daughters,
And female children of judges who maintain exclusivity and privacy,
Had to got to school in a slum school,
If they had to attend a school situated in a deprived area,
Dumped by some joker in a damp back alley,
Having been abandoned in a moist alleyway by an irresponsible person,
Had to herd into classrooms cramped with worry,
Being crowded into classrooms filled with anxiety and stress,
With a view onto slagheaps and stagnant pools,
Having to look out onto mountains of waste and still bodies of water,
Had to file through corridors grey with age,
Walking through old, dull hallways,
And play in a crackpot concrete cage.
Playing in a unstable enclosure made of concrete.
Buttons would be pressed,
Their influential parents would use their power to influence change using their authority and connections,
Rules would be broken.
Breaking laws and regulations to provide advantages for their children,
Strings would be pulled
Manipulating situations by pulling some tactical strings,
And magic words spoken.
Using persuasive language known to illicit desired outcomes,
Invisible fingers would mould
Powerful, undetected forces would shape outcomes,
Palaces of gold.
Providing wealth, opulence and grandeur to the parents and their descendants.
If prime ministers and advertising executives,
If people occupying high powerful positions of the country and media,
Royal personages and bank managers' wives
Those with royal background and wives of wealthy bank managers,
Had to live out their lives in dank rooms,
Had to remain in gloomy quarters their entire lives,
Blinded by smoke and the foul air of sewers.
Dealt with blocked vision and submitted themselves to filthy, polluted air.
Rot on the walls and rats in the cellars,
The walls have deteriorated, filled with decay and the cellars are filled with rodents.
In rows of dumb houses like mouldering tombs.
Residing in an array of silent, drab structures, akin to decaying graves.
Had to bring up their children and watch them grow
Being a parent and watching their children develop,
In a wasteland of dead streets where nothing will grow.
Living in an area where there is no growth, barren and bleak.
I'm not suggesting any kind of a plot,
The song is not proposing any plan of action,
Everyone knows there's not,
It is commonly recognized that it is unachievable,
But you unborn millions might like to be warned
However, future generations should be warned,
That if you don't want to be buried alive by slagheaps,
If they wish to avoid being suffocated by waste hills,
Pit-falls and damp walls and rat-traps and dead streets,
falling into concealed holes, humid walls, entrapment by rats and lifeless streets,
Arrange to be democratically born
It is recommended to be born into a well-functioning democracy,
The son of a company director
Being born into a business-oriented family
Or a judge's fine and private daughter.
Or into the household of a judge with exclusivity and privacy.
Contributed by Owen O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.