There once lived a man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor He gathered round him men like himself score after score Together they lived in the forest green And he told them all of his dream He dreamed of an England safe and free Where all men lived in harmony Free from the sheriff's gallows high Free from the bailiff's searching eye England o England free for you and me England o England free for you and me They made their home among the trees and dressed in lincoln green A finer band of outlawed men had never been seen Together they feasted on the deer And as longbow archers had no peer He had no time for barons and priests who lived by the law The law which made the rich man rich by taking from the poor Together they resolved to try To change this way of life or die