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The Last Bowman

from Dark Harvest by Malcolm MacWatt

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about

England’s medieval archers played a huge role in the nation’s rise as an old world superpower and there’s a romantic element that still resonates today in the Robin Hood myths. As the longbow was replaced by gunpowder, warfare became ever more mechanised and an important connection to nature was lost, together with the common lands once shared by the common folk for the common good. I’ve been a keen traditional archer for many years and to me it’s a bit like morris dancing - archaic, quaint, obsolete - yet deserves to be preserved as an art form and pastime. I haven't really thought about the nuclear threat since the bad old days of the Cold War but with the Russian invasion of Ukraine atom bombs are back in the news. The Oppenheimer movie is case in point.

lyrics

The archer checked his bow that morning, six feet of finest yew
100 lbs of stored up power to cast an arrow long and true
He learned his art as a young green lad with the men out on the village common
His skill and strength and eye grew keen but it takes years to grow a bowman

He next inspected every arrow, he ran them through his hands
The fletchings tight, the bodkin sharp, the shaft was straight and balanced
Each arrow crafted for the bow, one no use without the other
Muscle, sinew, skin and bone and wood all worked together

Is there really art in war amongst the bloody broken slain?
The bowman lets his arrow soar to arc and fall like deadly rain
Only with bow and shaft in perfect tune and body, mind and spirit one
Can the archer beat back lance and steel but not so with the gun

The bow is cut from living wood and seasoned by the years
The gun is cast like any tool from the cool minds of engineers
A bowman like the tree is grown but any child can pull a trigger
Oh the archer’s days are counting down as the guns get ever bigger

When the last bowman shoots his final arrow, when fletcher and bowyer cease to trade
Some will mourn tradition passing, some will say that progress has been made
The alchemy of gunpowder transformed into the atom bomb
And the practice butts no longer stand where the common land is gone

credits

from Dark Harvest, released January 25, 2024
Piano: Phil Dearing
Snare Drum: Ian MacWatt

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Malcolm MacWatt London, UK

“MacWatt will doubtless be considered among the best of the new breed of folksingers and songwriters, who speak of the past as a way to perhaps understand it and move forward” Stephen Rapid, Lonesome Highway

“He shines as a singer and he shines as an interpreter of the eternal folk songbook,” Tom Brosseau, The Great American Folk Show, North Dakota ... more

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