Jean-Luc je moj virtuelni prijatelj iz Francuske. Ono malo što znam o njemu je da je profesor književnosti u srednjoj školi, da smo ispisnici i da volimo sličnu muziku. Mnogo puta mi je skrenuo pažnju na neke interesantne stvari za koje nisam čuo, naučio me je kako se u njegovoj domovini ne pevaju samo šansone, a i razvejao mi zablude oko pojedinih francuskih izvođača za koje sam, na osnovu nekoliko pesama koje sam čuo, pomislio da su mnogo veći nego što jesu.
S vremena na vreme razmenimo po koji disk, da podstaknemo znatiželju i pronađemo novu temu o kojoj možemo da diskutujemo.
U novoj turi muzike koju mi je poslao, pored nekih interesantnih francuskih grupa, bilo je i nekoliko koncertnih snimaka grupe Strawbs. Uz Jean-Lucovu napomenu:
– Obrati pažnju na snimak iz Paris Theatra u Londonu, 5. avgusta 1971. godine, to im je bio poslednji koncert sa Rickom Wakemanom u postavi.
Odmah su me zasvrbele uši.
Koncert je otpočeo silovito, sa pesmom “The Hangman and the Papist“. Poznavaoci opusa Strawbsa, ma koje od njihovih različitih muzičkih izdanja voleli, znaju da je to jedna od najboljih pesama koje je Dave Cousins napisao.
The village square stands quiet with the curfew still in force
The streets are even clear of dogs and whores
Like some evil bird of prey the scaffold spreads its wings
The people build their fires and bolt their doors
The mayor is giving dinner to the officers and wives
His eldest son is learning how to fawn
The barrack block is hushed and tense, the soldiers drawing lots
Who will be the hangman in the dawn.The lot falls on a young man who has served for but a year
His home is in the village close nearby
He shivers at the thought of what he’s forced to do next day
He wonders who it is that has to die
The full moon casts a cold light on the gloomy prison walls
The papist walk his cell, he cannot sleep
He hears the waiting gallows creaking just beyond the door
He prays for he has no more tears to weep.The day begins to break, the muffled drums begin to sound
A crowd begins to gather in the square
The presence of the hangman in his terrifying mask
Weighs heavy on the minds of all those there
The colonel reads the sentence which the papist knows by heart
He has failed to show allegiance to the King
His crime is thus with God himself, in His name he must hang
The papist, head held high, says not a thing.The jailer binds his hands and puts the blindfold to his eyes
He leads him through the door before the crowd
The hangman sees his victim and the blood drains from his face
He sees his younger brother standing proud
The hangman tries to protest but is ordered to proceed
His trembling hands begin to take the strain
His eyes are blind with streaming tears, he cries for all to hear
“Forgive me God, we hang him in Thy name!”
Ideju za pesmu Cousins je dobio za vreme nastupa na nekom festivalu u Irskoj. Dok su svirali, u daljini su mogli da čuju pucnjavu koja je govorila da lokalni Protestanti i Katolici po ko zna koji put imaju neka neraščišćena posla. Razljućen ovakvom lošom atmosferom na samo korak od mesta na kome se festival odvijao, Cousins je seo i napisao alegorijski tekst o ljudima koji imaju različite stavove o istim stvarima. Rezultat je pesma o braći koji su, sticajem okolnosti, odrasli pod uticajem različitih verskih uverenja. Jedan od njih je postao seoski dželat koji se sa svojim bratom sreće u trenutku kada treba da ga pogubi zbog drugačijih verskih uverenja.
Wakeman je posle ovog koncerta prešao u grupu Yes i sa njima snimio neke od najuzbudljivijih albuma simfonijskog rocka. Strawbs i danas nastupaju u ko zna kojoj postavi. “The Hangman and the Papist” je i dalje pesma koju obavezno izvode.