Go Move Shift

(Ewan MacColl)

Born in the middle of the afternoon
on a horsedrawn wagon on the old A5
A big twelve-wheeler shook my bed
«You can’t stay here» the policeman said

You’d better get born in some place else
Move along, get along, move along, get along
Go, move, shift

Born on the common by a building site
where the ground was rutted by the trail of wheels
The local Christian said to me
«You’re lowering the price of the property»

You’d better get born in some place else…

Born at potato picking time
In a tent on a tatty field
The farmer said «The work’s all done
it’s time that you are moving on»

You’d better get born in some place else…

The eastern sky was full of stars
And one shone brighter than the rest
The wise men came so stern and strict
And brought the orders to evict

You’d better get born in some place else…

Born at the back of a hawthorn hedge
where the frost lay on the ground
No Eastern kings came bearing gifts
instead the orders came to shift

You’d better get born in some place else…

Wagon, tent or trailer born
Last month, last year or in far off days
Born here or a thousand miles away
There’s always men nearby who’ll say

You’d better get born in some place else…