Bishop Ussher's Madrigal
from Mary Anning of Lyme by Kevin Adams
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about
"Some people got very upset by what we were doing. The church didn’t like it at all."
"Well they can’t afford to be proved wrong."
In the 1650's Bishop Ussher had calculated that creation happened around tea-time on October 22nd, 4004 BC, and this was generally accepted by the Christian Church.
"Well they can’t afford to be proved wrong."
In the 1650's Bishop Ussher had calculated that creation happened around tea-time on October 22nd, 4004 BC, and this was generally accepted by the Christian Church.
lyrics
Bishop Ussher's Madrigal
Did you ever wonder when the world began?
With a hey, ho, fiddle dum dee
Then tip your hat to a very clever man
Sing hey for good James Ussher!
Learnèd James was the Bishop of Armagh
With a hey, ho, fiddle dum dee
When Cromwell’s puritans had won the Civil War
Sing hey for good James Ussher!
He calculated to the very minute
When God created Earth and all that’s in it
His work was historical and scholarly
It was based on Biblical theology
And the Bishop said…
It was round six o’clock
As near as I can make it
October twenty second
As close as I can date it
In the year four thousand and four (BC)
In the year four thousand and four.
So for many years this was deemed to be the truth
With a hey, ho, fiddle dum dee
But there were men of science who demanded better proof
Sing hey for the cliffs of Dorset!
‘The rocks and fossils tell us that it can’t be so.’
With a hey, ho, fiddle dum dee
‘And the cliffs of Dorset is the place that you should go’
Sing hey for the cliffs of Dorset!
To stand against the Church and all its might
Takes a strong, brave soul with the stomach for a fight
Empirical geology
‘Gainst blinkered ideology
Chorus X 2
Did you ever wonder when the world began?
With a hey, ho, fiddle dum dee
Then tip your hat to a very clever man
Sing hey for good James Ussher!
Learnèd James was the Bishop of Armagh
With a hey, ho, fiddle dum dee
When Cromwell’s puritans had won the Civil War
Sing hey for good James Ussher!
He calculated to the very minute
When God created Earth and all that’s in it
His work was historical and scholarly
It was based on Biblical theology
And the Bishop said…
It was round six o’clock
As near as I can make it
October twenty second
As close as I can date it
In the year four thousand and four (BC)
In the year four thousand and four.
So for many years this was deemed to be the truth
With a hey, ho, fiddle dum dee
But there were men of science who demanded better proof
Sing hey for the cliffs of Dorset!
‘The rocks and fossils tell us that it can’t be so.’
With a hey, ho, fiddle dum dee
‘And the cliffs of Dorset is the place that you should go’
Sing hey for the cliffs of Dorset!
To stand against the Church and all its might
Takes a strong, brave soul with the stomach for a fight
Empirical geology
‘Gainst blinkered ideology
Chorus X 2
credits
from Mary Anning of Lyme,
released June 21, 2020
Words & music Kevin Adams
Vocals: Terry Brown
Recorder: Sheena Masson
Words & music Kevin Adams
Vocals: Terry Brown
Recorder: Sheena Masson
license
all rights reserved
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about
Kevin Adams Milton Keynes, UK
Blending traditional folk music with a love of other genres- classical, jazz, folk-rock, prog-rock, pop… music, music, music…
discography
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Jun 2020 -
Jul 2018 -
Sep 2015 -
Jan 2019 -
Jun 2006 -
Jun 2017 -
Dec 2016 -
Jun 2002
contact / help
Kevin Adams recommends:
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My collaborator Dave Makins - check him out.
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