Goodbye, Edward Colston

Goodbye, Edward Colston
They say you were a philanthropist
When you were alive
Sadly for each good you did
Evil you did more

You’ve overstayed your welcome
And now with every breath I breathe
I say “It’s great to see you leave
The plinth upon which you have stood
Since eigthteen ninety-five”

They say you were virtuous
With high moral standards
In your life you’d done great things
For the people of the city
With the money that you made
Investing in the slave trade

But let’s not forget the reality
Of your great success
Transporting eighty thousand slaves
From West Africa
To America
And the Caribbean

And let’s not forget the reality
Of the twenty thousand slaves who died
Crossing the Atlantic

Goodbye, Edward Colston
Be on your way you’ve been dismissed
When you were alive
Sadly for each good you did
Evil you did more

@ rowland paul hill  8 June 2020