Refugee Lyrics

I am a poor immigrant I'm a stateless refugee

I've had to leave my native land in search of liberty

With my family and my comrades I've sailed from Rotterdam

And I've landed at the Port of Tyne in the north of England

Religious persecution was the reason that I ran

A rebel in the eyes of Rome, denied the rights of man

It's 1687 in the year of Our Lord

And there's men here in Newcastle want me to make my swords

My name is Adam Oley I'm a cutler to my trade

And I bear with me the secret of the hollow blade

I vowed an oath of silence and this I'll not betray

I gave my word in Solingnen in the land of Germany

To bring my trade to England in truth I was induced

To arm King James' soldiers with the swords I do produce

The foreign wars are raging and my skills are in demand

There's not a man can match my blades in all of England

So without hesitation I've wandered far and wide

And I've made my home at Shotley Bridge down by the Derwent-side

It's here I'll carry out my trade away from prying eyes

And make my blades the colour of the north-west Durham skies

There's water here to power the forge, the hammers and the mills

There's iron ore from Berry Edge and down to Hownes Gill

I'll build a smelting furnace and I'll dig for grindstone grit

Burn charcoal from the woods around and coal from Chopwell pit

I can't go back to Germany it grieves my heart full-sore

I'll live my life in exile all upon this foreign shore

Likewise my three companions, there's Bertram, Vooz and Mole

May God above, in all his love have mercy on my soul

You'll remember me in years to come down by the river's edge

Above my door in Wood Street you will find a stone-carved pledge

And when my fame has spread afar beyond the valley's ridge

You'll remember Adam Oley making swords at Shotley Bridge