Plague Archive - Thesilée

The Great Fire

Ashes Ashes Ashes Ashes
Precious Ashes precious ashes
Ring around the rosies
A pocket full of posies
Ashes Ashes
We all fall down.

A city in mourning, a city in plague.
The houses are barred, lives are at stake.
The women are crying
and strong men are sighing
the rats are a-roaming and people are dying
The rich men have all fled the town –
Proud London is bound to go down.

A bakershop’s oven brings forth more than bread:
The fire burns on as the baker lies dead.
And no one is knowing
that embers are glowing
The flames have escaped and the red seed is growing
The fire will do as it must
This city will soon burn to dust.

O Fire am I, the Great Fire you’ll call me
I rage and I ravage, I reap and destroy
O Fire am I, all world falls before me
My lust is in killing, I’m burning with joy.

The fires of heaven, the fires of hell
No matter who sent them, the fires burn well
To kill and to plunder
tear houses asunder
with flames bright as lightning and roaring like thunder.
And when the cathedral is lost
Folks know that the threshold’s been crossed.

O Fire am I, the Great Fire you’ll call me
I rage and I ravage, I reap and destroy
O Fire am I, all world falls before me
My lust is in killing, I’m burning with joy.

For three days the fires push on, on, and on.
Till east wind drops down and the battle is won
With praying and fasting
And gunpowder blasting
They’ve saved the remains of the town everlasting
And when finally fires drop dead
Gone is but the very last rat.

O Fire am I, the Great Fire you’ll call me
I rage and I ravage, I reap and destroy
O Fire am I, all world falls before me
My lust is in killing, I’m burning with joy.

O Fire was I, the Great Fire you called me
I raged and I ravaged, I reaped and destroyed
O Fire was I, all world fell before me
I’ve ended the plague, though I’ve left naught but void.

The song with chords as a PDF
The song in Chordpro format

Die Flagge des Roten Todes

Täglich sieht man Männer sterben,
sterben Frauen, Kinder, Vieh –
Pesthauch bringt der Welt Verderben,
doch bei uns war er noch nie!
Wir erfreuen uns des Lebens,
denn die Pest hat uns verschont:
Es scheint Sinn des höchsten Strebens,
daß der Mensch auf Inseln wohnt.

Roter Tod, Schwarzer Tod, unsere Insel hält dir stand,
Schwarzer Tod, Roter Tod, wüte nur am festen Land!

Seht, da naht ein Schiff dem Hafen!
Schiff des Todes, darf nicht sein!
Gott will mit der Pest uns strafen,
doch wir lassen ihn nicht rein!
Da – schon donnern die Kanonen,
Flammenpfeil zerreißt den Wind!
Diese Insel mußt du schonen,
weil wir sonst verloren sind!

Roter Tod, Schwarzer Tod, unsere Insel hält dir stand,
Schwarzer Tod, Roter Tod, wüte nur am festen Land!

Schaut das Feuer, wir wolln sehen
Roten Tod im Flammenschein.
Menschen hört man husten, flehen,
hört man voll Verzweiflung schrein.
Endlich sinkt dann die Galeere,
als das Wrack ist schwarz gebrannt.
Und das Meer schweigt… Tote Leere …
Eine Ratte schwimmt an Land.

Roter Tod, Schwarzer Tod, unsere Insel hält dir stand,
– Weil die Pest, weil die Pest, keinen Mann entkommen läßt –
Schwarzer Tod, Roter Tod, wüte nur am festen Land!
– Weil die Pest, weil die Pest, keinen Mann entkommen läßt…

The idea for this song came during a lecture on the plague
It took a long time for it to reach Great Britain – but it did…
The English version of this song is »Banner of the Red Death«

The song with chords as a PDF
The song in Chordpro format

Banner of the Red Death

Day by day the men are dying
Women, children, all drop dead.
Plague has set her wings a-flying,
But our folks she’s never met.
Our lives are gay and merry,
Death among us will not roam.
We don’t think that plague is scary,
For an island is our home.

Red Red Death, black Black Death, our isle from you will stand.
Black Black Death, Red Red Death, reap and kill but on dry land!

Watch this ship! It’s Death’s own freighter
Towards our harbour mouth does steer.
Plague may try it now or later,
But we will not have her here.
Hark, the cannons roar and fire,
Burning arrows singe the sky.
Spare this island, heaven’s Sire,
For we do not want to die.

Red Red Death, black Black Death, our isle from you will stand.
Black Black Death, Red Red Death, reap and kill but on dry land!

Watch the fire, blazing, gleaming,
Watch red flames devour Black Death!
Listen to the victims screaming,
Coughing, praying out of breath.
Finally the wreck is sinking
When the flames have had their whim.
Peacefully the stars are blinking…
Did you know that rats can swim?

Red Red Death, black Black Death, our isle from you will stand.
– Plage is black, plague is red, not a man from plague has fled –
Black Black Death, Red Red Death, reap and kill but on dry land!
– Plage is black, plague is red, plague is here and you are dead…

the German version of this song is »Die Flagge des Roten Todes«

The song with chords as a PDF
The Song in Chordpro format