Frances Black
Frances Black - Magdalen Laundry lyrics
Through the eyes of an innocent child Can't hide what is burning inside The shame and the guilt of disgrace They said she had fallen from grace To the arms of a train engineer Who escaped when the verdict was clear And saw she was quietly installed In the Magdalen Laundry And, oh, you can find them there Slaving each day in the heat and the steam And, oh, every bloody stain Will be carefully scrubbed 'Til it's white and it's clean The Sisters got angry today They took Bridie Power away They said she had broken the rules She swore that the priest from the school... If only they'd asked why she cried They said they'd concluded she'd lied The priest had his own alibi In the Magdalen Laundry And, oh, you can find them there Slaving each day in the heat and the steam And, oh, every bloody stain Will be carefully scrubbed 'Til it's white and it's clean A world set apart by magnolia walls And it's hard to believe that this happened at all Pray the meek shall inhert this heart The Sisters of Mercy still live In the convent on top of the hill The walls of the laundries came down Exposing their sins to the town The ghosts of the girls who had died The souls of the ones who survived Echo their protest inside The Magdalen Laundry And, oh, you can find them there Slaving each day in the heat and the steam And, oh, every bloody stain Will be carefully scrubbed 'Til it's white and it's clean And, oh, you can find them there Slaving each day in the heat and the steam And, oh, every bloody stain Will be carefully scrubbed 'Til it's white and it's clean
Copyrights:
Author: Don Mescall
Composer: ?
Publisher: Dolphin Traders Ltd.
Details:
Released in: 2003
Language: English
Appearing on: How High The Moon (2005) , The Essential Collection (2008)
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'Magdalen Laundry' is een instelling waar veelal prostituees werden opgevangen met als doel ze voor te bereiden voor een terugkeer in de maatschappij. Buiten Ierland werd zo'n instelling 'Magdalene Asylum' genoemd.
De eerste opvang in Ierland werd geopend op Leeson Street in Dublin in 1765, opgericht door de protestantse Lady Arabella Denny.
In het begin was het echt een opvang tehuis, maar in de 19de en 20ste eeuw veranderde dat. De vrouwen werden steeds meer behandeld als gevangenen. In de meeste van deze inrichtingen, werden ze verplicht om zwaar lichamelijk werk, zoals was-en naald werk te verrichten. Daarnaast werd er veel tijd besteed aan verplicht bidden Men schat dat ongeveer 30.000 vrouwen in de Ierse laundries (=wasserijen) hebben gezeten.
Alle Magdalen Laundries zijn gesloten. De laatste in Ierland in de plaats Waterford in 1996.
'Magdalena' is vernoemd naar de Magdalena Zusters, een orde van nonnen, die de leiding over de laundries hadden. De vrouwen werden 'Magdalenes' genoemd.
Wie meer wil weten, google de Magdalene Laundry op internet.