The Ghosts Of Your Grandfathers

from Sweet Optimism by Alun Parry

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £1 GBP  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    “IF YOU HAD FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES, YOU’D BE ABOVE THE LAW…”

    Acclaimed storyteller Alun Parry returns
    with a set of broadsides & ballads from the other side of the mirror

    Nobility isn’t a word often associated with songs. Nor is it often written in the same sentence as Woody Guthrie-worshipping socially conscious storytelling songwriters. But Alun Parry’s work contains multitudes and is brimming with noble thoughts and music. The Scouse storyteller has sold albums and filled rooms across the UK for two decades, but his fans have noticed a shift in focus: he plays fewer gigs, records more songs and releases more music than ever before. Why? No matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop writing:

    “This latest set of songs are stories about how we live our lives. Yes, there’s politics, but there’s also personal struggles, humans having histories and meditations on navigating life,” he reveals. “These songs have enabled me to break out of the folk straitjacket and work within other genres to best tell the stories I want to tell.”

    There’s confessional songwriting in the quietly-devastating If I Should Reach The Night Again, funky musings within Friends And Influence and even a finger-pointing anthem to challenge Parry’s seminal My Name Is Dessie Warren in the gallant The Ghosts Of Your Grandfathers. “I hope there’s some optimism in there, too,” he smiles. “No matter what we go through, we need hope. And we’ll always need each other.”

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sweet Optimism via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.     ... more
    ships out within 1 day

      £15 GBP or more 

     

lyrics

Your grandfather stood on that picket line

Maybe your father did too

When those bastards on horseback they came for them

And beat them black and blue

And when they marched back to work that day

Defeated behind that brass band

Who'd have thought that the grandchild they doted on

Would strengthen their attacker's hand



May the ghosts of your grandfathers

Torment you every day

May you never sleep at night

Cos you can't chase their demons away

And the predators you voted for

I hope that they see you as prey

May the ghosts of your grandfathers

Torment you night and day



Though you're fooled with nostalgia of Empire

Not a penny of plunder they shared

And you've taken the gains that your grandparents made

You've trampled them into the dirt

So long as Johnny Foreigner

Is put on the next leaving boat

Though you can't even find the breath to cheer

For a boot presses down on your throat



May the ghosts of your grandfathers

Torment you every day

May you never sleep at night

Cos you can't chase their demons away

And the predators you voted for

I hope that they see you as prey

May the ghosts of your grandfathers

Torment you night and day



So may you rot and perish

Like you deserve to do

May you understand your ancestors

When this time they're coming for you

May no one show you mercy

When they hear your agonised groans

As the vultures you befriended

Rip all the flesh from your bones



May the ghosts of your grandfathers

Torment you every day

May you never sleep at night

Cos you can't chase their demons away

And the predators you voted for

I hope that they see you as prey

May the ghosts of your grandfathers

Torment you night and day

credits

from Sweet Optimism, released August 22, 2022

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Alun Parry image

Alun Parry Liverpool, UK

Known as the UK's Woody Guthrie, Alun Parry's music is uplifting, soul stirring, defiant, and tons of fun!

contact / help

Contact Alun Parry

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Alun Parry, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now