THE SHEEP TRUCK

To market, to market,
They’re selling fatted sheep
To market, to market,
Then they have us put to sleep.

To market, to market,
They’re selling off our meat
To market, to market,
For those carnivores to eat. 

To market, to market,
They turn us into chops
To market, to market,
In those blooded butchers’ shops

To market, to market,
Our bleats are never heeded. 
To market, to market
They claim our meat is needed.

To market, to market,
They’ve already had our wool
To market, to market,
Now it’s us they cull

To market, to market,
We’re mutton casserole
To market, to market,
Think for whom the bells toll.

 

The photograph, captured recently through the window of an inn on the A30 in Hampshire, is of a three-tiered cattle truck, with what appeared to be a full load of sheep.