3. Today the tyrants triumph
And bind us for their gains,
But Jesus Christ our Saviour
Will free us from our chains,
And love, the only master,
Will strive with might and greed,
Till might is right no longer,
And right is might indeed.
Lift up the people's banner
And let the ancient cry
For justice and for freedom
Re-echo to the sky.
4. God is the only Landlord
To whom our rents are due.
God made the earth for everyone
And not for just a few.
The four parts of creation --
Earth, water, air, and fire --
God made and ranked and stationed
For everyone's desire.
Lift up the people's banner
And let the ancient cry
For justice and for freedom
Re-echo to the sky.
A couple of days ago I wrote something about Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker, and I can't help thinking that she would have approved of that hymn.
1 comment:
It was certainly a different hymn although the theme seems to recur within the realms of 'non-conformist' Christianity in English history quite often. The concept of the land in common can be linked to the Priest John Ball in the Peasant's Revolt, Winstanley and the Diggers at the time of the English Civil War and William Morris in the 19th C.
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