The Yorkshire Chartist Choir was formed specially for the Chartist festival concert.
Andrew Bibby researched and selected the songs. Janet Russell arranged the music and directed the choir.
A Song Book with the words and music of six Chartist songs and selected readings from the writings and poems of Ernest Jones, has been produced. A few copies left: Cost Ł2.00.

O'er plains and cities far away;
All lorn and lost the morning lay,
When sunk the sun, at break of day,
In smoke of mill and factory .

But waved the wind on Blackstone - height
A standard of the broad sunlight,
And sung that morn with trumpet might,
A sounding song of liberty !

And grew the glorious music higher,
When pouring, with his heart on fire,
Old Yorkshire came with Lancashire
And all his noblest chivalry;

The men who give - not those who take!
The hands that bless - yet hearts that break,-
Those toilers for their foeman's sake!
Old England's true nobility.

So brave a host hath never met,
For truth shall be their bayonet
Whose bloodless thrusts shall scatter yet
The force of false finality.

Though Hunger stamped each forehead spare
And eyes were dim with factory glare,
Loud swelled the nation’s battle prayer
Of death to class monopoly.

Then every eye grew keen and bright
and every pulse was dancing light;
For every heart had felt its might,
The might of labour’s chivalry.

And up to heav’n the descant ran,
With no cold roof twixt God and man
To dash back from its frowning span
A church prayer’s listless blasphemy.

The distant cities quaked to hear,
When rolled from that high hill the cheer
Of HOPE TO SLAVES ! TO TYRANTS FEAR !

AND GOD AND MAN, FOR LIBERTY !

‘False finality’ in verse 5 refers to an anti-radical speech made by Lord John Russell, the Whig Home Secretary, on the opening of parliament in November 1937. He declared bluntly that he would never be a party to the ballot, and that he would never reform the Reform Act- and thats final ! He came to be called ‘Finality Jack’.

Blackstone Edge, written in 1846, was inspired by Jones’ first visit to one of the great moorland Chartist meetings of the industrial North. Ben Rushton, by popular demand, chaired the meeting, and prophetically warned Jones that the arm of the law might be raised against him if he continued to advocate the Chartist cause. The two quickly became friends, and Jones twice stood as Chartist candidate for parliament in Halifax.