Jim is in the Bugle!
We’re going down the town tonight, for Jim is in the Bugle,
His mandolin a weapon and his voice a clarion call,
For each and every underdog and soldier in the night,
The chimes of freedom ringing through the halls…
He sang the Midnight Special and the Wabash Cannonball,
St Louis Blues, the Wild Colonial Boy….
The Burning Ring of Fire and the Old Revolution,
The Barley Mow and Rose of San Antone…
The Barley Mow and Rose of San Antone…
On a rainy night in Lymington, with winter drawing in,
Hats pulled down and collars round our ears…
Minds are touched with sadness at the leavings of the years,
Recalling former times and better cheer…
As bitter, wine and whiskey do their work upon the soul,
I swear I hear the music through a quickly opened door…
If you and I should linger by the archway to the Bugle,
You’ll hear his mandolin and mighty roar…
You’ll hear his mandolin and mighty roar…
He sang them in The Sportsman’s,
In The Londesborough and The Ship,
In The Gun, and The Old English and The Crown…
The Monkey House, The Angel Tap and many more besides,
People gladly harkened to the sound…
Contd…
‘Twas in the years of skiffle he took up his mandolin,
The beatnik generation rose beside him as he’d sing…
Through fire and tribulation he kept true to his belief,
In the power of songs… and Jesus on the wing…
In the power of songs… and Jesus on the wing…
We’re going down the town tonight, for Jim is in the Bugle,
His mandolin a weapon and his voice a clarion call…
For each and every underdog and soldier in the night,
The chimes of freedom ringing down the halls…
The chimes of freedom ringing down the halls…
For Jim Insole – Jon, 2015, Southampton
Videos
The Wreck of the Old ’97 perfomed by Jim Insole
MacPherson’s Farewell perfomed by Jim Insole
