"The Diggers' Song" (also known as "Levellers and Diggers") is a 17th-century English

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

Gerrard Winstanley Gerrard Winstanley (19 October 1609 – 10 September 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer, political philosopher, and activist during the period of the Commonwealth of England. Winstanley was the leader and one of the founde ...

, a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

about

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

inspired by the

Diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with agrarian socialism. Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard, amongst many others, were known as True Levellers in 1649, in reference to their split from ...

movement. The lyrics were published in 1894 by the

Camden Society The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary ...

. It is sung to a version of the family of tunes later used for " Sam Hall", "

Captain Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

", and "Admiral

John Benbow Vice-Admiral John Benbow (10 March 16534 November 1702) was an English officer in the Royal Navy. He joined the navy aged 25 years, seeing action against Algerian pirates before leaving and joining the merchant navy where he traded until the ...

", which according to Roy Palmer was first printed in 1714. The English band

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...

recorded a version of this song on their 1988 album '' English Rebel Songs 1381–1914''. According to Leon Rosselson his 1975 song "The World Turned Upside Down" (not to be confused with the 17th-century ballad of the same title) is not a version of "Diggers' Song". However, Rosselson later recorded a version of "The Diggers' Song" (under the title "You Noble Diggers All") using the traditional lyrics and tune on his album '' Harry's Gone Fishing''. Chumbawamba also released a version of Rosselson's composition on their 1993 single " Timebomb", sang "The Diggers' Song" in 1988 on their LP ''English Rebel Songs 1381–1914'', and recorded it again in 2003 for the re-made CD ''English Rebel Songs 1381–1984''. In 2007, they sang it on their live ''CD Get On With It – Live''. The song was selected by

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...

when he appeared on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'' on 15 January 1989.

Lyrics

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

The English Diggers (1649–50)
17th-century ballads Diggers English ballads English folk songs Protest songs Traditional ballads Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown {{Folk-song-stub

Lyrics

See also

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links