Cockle Pickers Lyrics
| Song | Cockle Pickers |
| Artist | Momus |
| Album | Otto Spooky |
| Download | Image LRC TXT |
| 作词 : Currie | |
| (NARRATOR) - Yu Hui came from Yangbian, a village in the north of Fujian, opposite Taiwan | |
| Government requisitions left him with just one mu of land | |
| Not enough to pay for his family's outgoings | |
| It was humiliating | |
| Yu Hui thought of emigrating | |
| (YU HUI) - A man working in a bakery in Britain | |
| Can send enough money home | |
| To build a big six storey mansion in Yangbian | |
| Abroad I could save each month | |
| More than I make here in a year | |
| (NARRATOR) - And so Yu Hui made a deal with the Snakehead Gang | |
| (NARRATOR & YU HUI) - The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness no-one can see the sky | |
| (NARRATOR) - On a forged Korean passport Yu Hui flew from Hong Kong to Europe | |
| He dyed his hair to better resemble the man in the picture | |
| In Paris he tried to find work, but failed | |
| An illegal Chinese with no skills | |
| (YU HUI) - I went sightseeing, called my family | |
| Told them to pay the snakeheads £7,000 | |
| This they did, with the help of loans | |
| Secured by relatives and friends | |
| (NARRATOR) - In England Yu Hui thought he would have better luck, a chance to earn more money | |
| He came stowed away in a lorry | |
| Through the channel tunnel | |
| (YU HUI) - I heard that some who do this suffocate | |
| I was afraid | |
| It was hot in the truck | |
| I ate a bar of chocolate | |
| (NARRATOR) - In London he worked in the kitchen of a takeaway | |
| The boss was hard, and the chef, although from Yu Hui's own village | |
| Required £200 to give him the job | |
| (YU HUI) - I slept on a mattress I found on the street | |
| Lived with four others above a takeaway | |
| Had to distribute five hundred leaflets every day | |
| Then work eight to ten hours in the kitchen | |
| For two meals, and low pay | |
| (NARRATOR) - When he heard about the cockling work up north | |
| Yu Hui assumed it could not be worse than life in London | |
| He packed a case and went to Morecambe Bay | |
| (YU HUI) - This work is very hard | |
| It is cold and hurts my back | |
| I live in a room with forty others, we eat only rice | |
| I am depressed | |
| I want to quit, but because I'm illegal | |
| I have no freedom and no choice | |
| (NARRATOR) - Five different Chinese teams, all under the control of a gangmaster | |
| Work different sections of the bay | |
| They work according to the tides, sometimes by day | |
| But mostly at night | |
| In groups of twenty to thirty | |
| (YU HUI) - The English cockling teams felt threatened | |
| Because we sieve the tiddlers out, clean our cockles better | |
| They poured diesel on our catch to warn us | |
| They hate us because we are foreigners | |
| So now we work at night, although it is much more dangerous | |
| (NARRATOR) - They lay the wooden planks on the sand | |
| And shake them to bring the cockles to the surface | |
| Harvest them with rakes, clean them up, and drop them in a sack | |
| (NARRATOR & YU HUI) - The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness no-one can see the sea | |
| (YU HUI) - And we knew that the tide was rising | |
| Only when it touched our feet | |
| By that time our only escape was blocked | |
| (YU HUI) - If I die, who will pay off the Snakeheads? | |
| My family will drown in endless tears | |
| They cannot pay, not in fifty years | |
| (NARRATOR) - The hovercraft sent by the lifeguard was beaten back by two metre waves | |
| Twenty bodies were recovered, only one was saved, clinging to Priest Skier | |
| It was not Yu Hui | |
| (NARRATOR & YU HUI) - The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness |
| zuo ci : Currie | |
| NARRATOR Yu Hui came from Yangbian, a village in the north of Fujian, opposite Taiwan | |
| Government requisitions left him with just one mu of land | |
| Not enough to pay for his family' s outgoings | |
| It was humiliating | |
| Yu Hui thought of emigrating | |
| YU HUI A man working in a bakery in Britain | |
| Can send enough money home | |
| To build a big six storey mansion in Yangbian | |
| Abroad I could save each month | |
| More than I make here in a year | |
| NARRATOR And so Yu Hui made a deal with the Snakehead Gang | |
| NARRATOR YU HUI The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness noone can see the sky | |
| NARRATOR On a forged Korean passport Yu Hui flew from Hong Kong to Europe | |
| He dyed his hair to better resemble the man in the picture | |
| In Paris he tried to find work, but failed | |
| An illegal Chinese with no skills | |
| YU HUI I went sightseeing, called my family | |
| Told them to pay the snakeheads 7, 000 | |
| This they did, with the help of loans | |
| Secured by relatives and friends | |
| NARRATOR In England Yu Hui thought he would have better luck, a chance to earn more money | |
| He came stowed away in a lorry | |
| Through the channel tunnel | |
| YU HUI I heard that some who do this suffocate | |
| I was afraid | |
| It was hot in the truck | |
| I ate a bar of chocolate | |
| NARRATOR In London he worked in the kitchen of a takeaway | |
| The boss was hard, and the chef, although from Yu Hui' s own village | |
| Required 200 to give him the job | |
| YU HUI I slept on a mattress I found on the street | |
| Lived with four others above a takeaway | |
| Had to distribute five hundred leaflets every day | |
| Then work eight to ten hours in the kitchen | |
| For two meals, and low pay | |
| NARRATOR When he heard about the cockling work up north | |
| Yu Hui assumed it could not be worse than life in London | |
| He packed a case and went to Morecambe Bay | |
| YU HUI This work is very hard | |
| It is cold and hurts my back | |
| I live in a room with forty others, we eat only rice | |
| I am depressed | |
| I want to quit, but because I' m illegal | |
| I have no freedom and no choice | |
| NARRATOR Five different Chinese teams, all under the control of a gangmaster | |
| Work different sections of the bay | |
| They work according to the tides, sometimes by day | |
| But mostly at night | |
| In groups of twenty to thirty | |
| YU HUI The English cockling teams felt threatened | |
| Because we sieve the tiddlers out, clean our cockles better | |
| They poured diesel on our catch to warn us | |
| They hate us because we are foreigners | |
| So now we work at night, although it is much more dangerous | |
| NARRATOR They lay the wooden planks on the sand | |
| And shake them to bring the cockles to the surface | |
| Harvest them with rakes, clean them up, and drop them in a sack | |
| NARRATOR YU HUI The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness noone can see the sea | |
| YU HUI And we knew that the tide was rising | |
| Only when it touched our feet | |
| By that time our only escape was blocked | |
| YU HUI If I die, who will pay off the Snakeheads? | |
| My family will drown in endless tears | |
| They cannot pay, not in fifty years | |
| NARRATOR The hovercraft sent by the lifeguard was beaten back by two metre waves | |
| Twenty bodies were recovered, only one was saved, clinging to Priest Skier | |
| It was not Yu Hui | |
| NARRATOR YU HUI The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness |
| zuò cí : Currie | |
| NARRATOR Yu Hui came from Yangbian, a village in the north of Fujian, opposite Taiwan | |
| Government requisitions left him with just one mu of land | |
| Not enough to pay for his family' s outgoings | |
| It was humiliating | |
| Yu Hui thought of emigrating | |
| YU HUI A man working in a bakery in Britain | |
| Can send enough money home | |
| To build a big six storey mansion in Yangbian | |
| Abroad I could save each month | |
| More than I make here in a year | |
| NARRATOR And so Yu Hui made a deal with the Snakehead Gang | |
| NARRATOR YU HUI The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness noone can see the sky | |
| NARRATOR On a forged Korean passport Yu Hui flew from Hong Kong to Europe | |
| He dyed his hair to better resemble the man in the picture | |
| In Paris he tried to find work, but failed | |
| An illegal Chinese with no skills | |
| YU HUI I went sightseeing, called my family | |
| Told them to pay the snakeheads 7, 000 | |
| This they did, with the help of loans | |
| Secured by relatives and friends | |
| NARRATOR In England Yu Hui thought he would have better luck, a chance to earn more money | |
| He came stowed away in a lorry | |
| Through the channel tunnel | |
| YU HUI I heard that some who do this suffocate | |
| I was afraid | |
| It was hot in the truck | |
| I ate a bar of chocolate | |
| NARRATOR In London he worked in the kitchen of a takeaway | |
| The boss was hard, and the chef, although from Yu Hui' s own village | |
| Required 200 to give him the job | |
| YU HUI I slept on a mattress I found on the street | |
| Lived with four others above a takeaway | |
| Had to distribute five hundred leaflets every day | |
| Then work eight to ten hours in the kitchen | |
| For two meals, and low pay | |
| NARRATOR When he heard about the cockling work up north | |
| Yu Hui assumed it could not be worse than life in London | |
| He packed a case and went to Morecambe Bay | |
| YU HUI This work is very hard | |
| It is cold and hurts my back | |
| I live in a room with forty others, we eat only rice | |
| I am depressed | |
| I want to quit, but because I' m illegal | |
| I have no freedom and no choice | |
| NARRATOR Five different Chinese teams, all under the control of a gangmaster | |
| Work different sections of the bay | |
| They work according to the tides, sometimes by day | |
| But mostly at night | |
| In groups of twenty to thirty | |
| YU HUI The English cockling teams felt threatened | |
| Because we sieve the tiddlers out, clean our cockles better | |
| They poured diesel on our catch to warn us | |
| They hate us because we are foreigners | |
| So now we work at night, although it is much more dangerous | |
| NARRATOR They lay the wooden planks on the sand | |
| And shake them to bring the cockles to the surface | |
| Harvest them with rakes, clean them up, and drop them in a sack | |
| NARRATOR YU HUI The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness noone can see the sea | |
| YU HUI And we knew that the tide was rising | |
| Only when it touched our feet | |
| By that time our only escape was blocked | |
| YU HUI If I die, who will pay off the Snakeheads? | |
| My family will drown in endless tears | |
| They cannot pay, not in fifty years | |
| NARRATOR The hovercraft sent by the lifeguard was beaten back by two metre waves | |
| Twenty bodies were recovered, only one was saved, clinging to Priest Skier | |
| It was not Yu Hui | |
| NARRATOR YU HUI The wind is strong, the tide is high | |
| In darkness |
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