Culture

The Ballad of Foot-and-Mouth

By Lola Haskins

One-ery, Two-ery, Ziccary, Zeven,
Hollow-bone, Crack-a-bone, Ten-or-eleven,
Spin, Spun, It-must-be-done

So they push them up - the ewes,


the wethers, the lambs, the tups -


With their yellow dozers like flowers o

Eena, Deena, Dina, Dust,
Catt'lla, Jweena, Wina, Wust

With their yellow dozers like flowers o


The ewes, the half-grown lambs, the tups


in mountains now with their legs stiff up

Ein, Tein, Tethra, Methera, Pimp,
Awfus, Daufus, Deefus, Dumfus, Dix

In mountains now with their legs stiff up


The wethers, the half-grown lambs, the ewes


And what is motherhood now o

One-ery, Two-ery, Ziccary, Zeven,
Hollow-bone, Crack-a-bone, Ten-or-Eleven,
Spin, Spun, It-must-be-done

And what is motherhood now o


as the ash smoulders in the backs of our throats


of the ewes, the wethers, the half-grown lambs

And the moors all empty but for the wind


that moans as it licks at the dry stone walls


And that's your motherhood now o

Spin, Spun, It-must-be-done,
Twiddledum, Twaddledum, Twenty-one