There are images from literature that stick in the mind and, for me, one of those is that of the roadman whose identity Richard Hannay borrows in John Buchan’s ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’. Robert Hard, one of Baring-Gould’s singers, ended his life as a stone-breaker on the roads. This song is about work, its ephemeral nature and a man’s pride in what he does. Paul Wilson’s percussion on this track uses a piece of Dartmoor granite as well as slate (though not Cornish).

 

Stonecracker John wakes at five in the morning every day

Cuts his bread and cheese then he waits for the cart to carry him away

While the tradesmen sleep, he must earn his keep

'In a hundred years it'll all be the same' says Stonecracker John

 

Stonecracker John rides off to his work with six other men

With 'Good Morning!' said, their silence cloaks them once again

For the chat's stillborn, they can only yawn

'In a hundred years it'll all be the same' says Stonecracker John

 

At the Five Mile Cross the cart will leave him out on his own

With a mallet and a chisel and a ten pound hammer and a block of stone

Through the long hot day, he must chip away

'In a hundred years it'll all be the same says' Stonecracker John

 

In the heat of Noon he'll find some shade to have his food

And he'll watch the traffic moving up and down the road

All the rich on wheels, and the poor on their heels

'In a hundred years it'll all be the same' says Stonecracker John

 

Stonecracker John fills the ruts in the road with broken stone

When the hole is filled he moves aside and the wheels roll on

He'll be homeward bound as the sun goes down

'In a hundred years it'll all be the same' says Stonecracker John

 

Stonecracker John peers out of his window, housetop high

He can see his handwork cross the hill and touch the sky

In the pale moon's light it's a ribbon of white

'In a hundred years it'll all be the same' says Stonecracker John

'In a hundred years it'll all be the same' says Stonecracker John

 

Copyright (c) 1974 Martin Graebe