7 12 Years Old

From Sweet Liberties, '12 Years Old' by Martyn Joseph, performed at Cecil Sharp House, London on 28th November 2015. The Factory Act of 1833 set out to improve conditions for children working in factories. This song focuses on a conversation between two children a hundred years apart. We would rightly presume that life is better for a child now, but the dialogue suggests that some important social aspects of children’s lives have actually declined. Nick Cooke - melodeon Nancy Kerr - fiddle, vocals Sam Carter - guitar, vocals Maz O'Connor - tenor guitar, vocals Martyn Joseph - guitar, vocals Patsy Reid – fiddle Twelve years old, no more school No more desks for me Twelve years old, no more school A Tommy box and can to carry my tea, I am Twelve years old and I’ll do a man’s job With a body that’s half of the size Twelve years old, deep down in the dark There’s no books where the coalface lies All fall down Ring-a-ring-a-ring-a-roses, fall down And pockets full of stories When does a boy become a man? When should a girl become a woman? Twelve years old and I’m looking out At a burnt-out car in the field And my sisters they laugh into mobile phones But to who it will not be revealed And I think of you then so long ago Teacher told me it was cruel and wrong But in some ways I’d have loved to have been by your side For at least you knew you belonged All fall down Ring-a-ring-a-ring-a-roses, fall down And pockets full of stories When does a boy become a man? When should a girl become a woman? When the distant whistle blows from our working pit I fell asleep just the other day And I thought I heard a voice cry out That I wasn’t alone in God’s sake That in a hundred years’ time and on other lands There’d be children no older than I Bringing up orphans of parents struck down Still no justice under the sky Twelve years old, I go to school And for the house I have my own key And my mum’s very busy, she just seems to me A computer screen waits for me The shift ends and I smile at my Dad Twelve years old and the story is written Too soon we are women and men So all fall down Ring-a-ring-a-ring-a-roses, fall down And pockets full of stories When does a boy become a man? When should a girl become a woman? Sweet Liberties is a joint commission by the English Folk Dance & Song Society, Folk By The Oak, Parliament In The Making, and PRS for Music Foundation to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and the 750th anniversary of the Simon de Montfort parliament. For more information about Sweet Liberties, visit: http://www.folkbytheoak.com/sweet-lib... EFDSS: http://www.efdss.org/ Folk By The Oak: http://www.folkbytheoak.com Parliament In The Making: http://www.parliament.uk/about/living... PRS for Music Foundation: http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/