Voice Of Doom
This one goes back to the 1790s, and a lady called Joanna Southcot who revealed herself as ‘The Chosen One’. She made some pretty wild claims that she was going to give birth to the messiah but would be forced to flee a giant red dragon (who was an incarnation of the devil) who would want to devour her child and cause destruction to the world. She actually had a lot of followers, she’d developed quite a well established cult.
In 1809 just before Easter, a rumour was spread by one of her disciples that on Good Friday, Beacon Hill and Beechen Cliff were going to ‘kiss each other’ and ‘there would be a coming together of Hill and Cliff’, from which they extrapolated would mean they would crash into the valley and destroy Bath. The rumour took hold of people’s imagination and picked up pace. It was helped by the fact that at the time, it was believed Bath was built in the crater of an extinct volcano (hence the hot springs)
In those few days, tourism dropped off completely; visitors packed up and left a trail of unpaid bills and even some local residents got on their way. Good Friday finally arrived and anticipation was high… There was to be a bit of a twist (you may realise Bath is still standing so it didn’t happen). It transpired that 2 weeks before Easter, two men were discussing a forthcoming gamecock fight on Good Friday – you can probably guess that the two gamescocks’ names were Beechen Cliff and Beacon Hill. Conversation about the coming together of these birds was overheard by one of Joanna’s disciples who was obviously not up with all the gamecock lingo and ended up causing this city wide panic!
Lyrics:
I offer you a warning, so lend me your ears
The Chosen One has spoken, judgement day is here
She shall bear a son to save Mankind
But sinners from the devil there’s nowhere to hide
I hear the day is coming, and this is where it starts
You’ll feel the Wrath of God, cleanse immoral hearts
When Hill and Cliff collide and the city screams
Your money and your vices they won’t mean a thing
Listen when I say
The city falls today
Hear me when I speak
The valleys will shake and crumble around our feet
Get ready for destruction, you may try to run
But the shadows of the dragon will find everyone
When Hill and Cliff collide, we will come undone
I heard it from Disciples of the Chosen One
Listen when I say
The city falls today
Hear me when I speak
The valleys will shake and crumble around our feet
So we wait…. And we wait
And we wait… and we wait…
I heard that the disciples may have got it wrong
They’d overheard a farmer talking to his son
When Hill and Cliff collide it will be alright
‘Cause Hill and Cliff are birds and today they fight
In 1809 just before Easter, a rumour was spread by one of her disciples that on Good Friday, Beacon Hill and Beechen Cliff were going to ‘kiss each other’ and ‘there would be a coming together of Hill and Cliff’, from which they extrapolated would mean they would crash into the valley and destroy Bath. The rumour took hold of people’s imagination and picked up pace. It was helped by the fact that at the time, it was believed Bath was built in the crater of an extinct volcano (hence the hot springs)
In those few days, tourism dropped off completely; visitors packed up and left a trail of unpaid bills and even some local residents got on their way. Good Friday finally arrived and anticipation was high… There was to be a bit of a twist (you may realise Bath is still standing so it didn’t happen). It transpired that 2 weeks before Easter, two men were discussing a forthcoming gamecock fight on Good Friday – you can probably guess that the two gamescocks’ names were Beechen Cliff and Beacon Hill. Conversation about the coming together of these birds was overheard by one of Joanna’s disciples who was obviously not up with all the gamecock lingo and ended up causing this city wide panic!
Lyrics:
I offer you a warning, so lend me your ears
The Chosen One has spoken, judgement day is here
She shall bear a son to save Mankind
But sinners from the devil there’s nowhere to hide
I hear the day is coming, and this is where it starts
You’ll feel the Wrath of God, cleanse immoral hearts
When Hill and Cliff collide and the city screams
Your money and your vices they won’t mean a thing
Listen when I say
The city falls today
Hear me when I speak
The valleys will shake and crumble around our feet
Get ready for destruction, you may try to run
But the shadows of the dragon will find everyone
When Hill and Cliff collide, we will come undone
I heard it from Disciples of the Chosen One
Listen when I say
The city falls today
Hear me when I speak
The valleys will shake and crumble around our feet
So we wait…. And we wait
And we wait… and we wait…
I heard that the disciples may have got it wrong
They’d overheard a farmer talking to his son
When Hill and Cliff collide it will be alright
‘Cause Hill and Cliff are birds and today they fight