The inspiration for this song came from the harvest scenes of Lark Rise to Candleford, and the carnage of the First World War. The resulting metaphorical masterpiece was the closing track on the Home Service album "Alright Jack". "Ashley said I'd never fit it to music. 'Cos it doesn't scan, you see." Ha. Andy Findon's flute leads into the track playing an arrangement of "My Bonny Boy", then gives way to a soaring phoenix of a saxophone climax.

Scarecrow

I see the barley moving as the mowers find their pace
I see the line advancing with a steady timeless grace
And there's passion in their eyes and there's honour in their face
As they scythe down the castles and the courts

Blame it on the fathers, blame it on the sons
Blame it on the poppies and the pain
Blame it on the generals, blame it on their guns
Blame it on the scarecrow in the rain

I smell the smoke of stubble when the harvest is brought down
I see the fire a-burning as it purges all around
And the field is turned to ashes and the only living sound
Are the skylarks as they try to reach the sun

Blame it on the fathers, blame it on the sons
Blame it on the poppies and the pain
Blame it on the generals, blame it on their guns
Blame it on the scarecrow in the rain

I see the barbed wire growing like a bramble on the land
I see a farm turned to a fortress and a future turned to sand
I see a meadow turn to mud and from it grows a hand
Like a scarecrow that is fallen in the rain
Blame it on the scarecrows...