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The West's asleep.
Let England shake, weighted down with silent dead.
I fear our blood won't rise again.
Won't rise again
England's dancing days are done.
Another day, Bobby, for you to come, home
And tell me, indifference has won won won.
Smile, smile Bobby, with your lovely mouth.
Pack up your troubles, and let's head out
To the fountain of death
And splash about, swim back forth
And laugh out loud,
Until the day is ending,
And the birds are silent in the branches,
And the insects are courting
And by the shores
Heavy stones are falling.
Smile, smile Bobby, with your lovely mouth.
Pack up your troubles, and let's head out
To the fountain of death
And splash about, swim back forth
And laugh out loud,
Let England shake, weighted down with silent dead.
I fear our blood won't rise again.
Won't rise again
England's dancing days are done.
Another day, Bobby, for you to come, home
And tell me, indifference has won won won.
Smile, smile Bobby, with your lovely mouth.
Pack up your troubles, and let's head out
To the fountain of death
And splash about, swim back forth
And laugh out loud,
Until the day is ending,
And the birds are silent in the branches,
And the insects are courting
And by the shores
Heavy stones are falling.
Smile, smile Bobby, with your lovely mouth.
Pack up your troubles, and let's head out
To the fountain of death
And splash about, swim back forth
And laugh out loud,
Lyrics submitted by stentorian
Track duration: 03:09
"Let England Shake" as written by Polly / Harvey
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
— Atatürk 1934
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
— Atatürk 1934
The line "The Wests asleep" references an Irish rebellion poem, and indeed the title Let England Shake is a variation of the the line Let England Quake in that poem.
The reference to the lovely mouth must be to the 1981 hunger strikes. Pack up your "troubles".
Finally, and this might be stretching it a little, but a famous Bobby Sands quote is "Our revenge will be the laughter or our children" so I wonder if that's why that line about laughing is there.
But I'm not sure exactly where the imagery of the Fountain of Death is coming from, I suppose it's just as an opposite to the Fountain of Life. A very unsettling image comes to mind of blood rather than water in a fountain for me.