The Industrial Revolution Rap

English:

We find ourselves at the beginning of the 18th century. During those years, huge changes completely transformed the world . During the French Revolution, under the chaos, the violence and the heavy blade of the guillotine, the French king died , and with him, began the death of the Ancient Regime. 

It is the beginning of the power of bourgeoisie,  liberalism and democracy (still limited and weak).
In Great Britain , at the same time, another revolution is born. Here the "old times" didn't die under the frantic edge of the guillotine, but under the unstoppable movement of machinery, coal and industries. The Industrial Revolution has born. In this video, Flocabulary sings this era marked by the resonant factories and technologies. But this is also a tough and tumultuous time that led to poor workers and families, backbreaking work and dirty and polluted cities. Let's hear how Flovabulary sing it.

 

Español:

Nos encontramos en torno al año 1800. Junto al cambio de siglo, gigantescos cambios transforman totalmente el mundo conocido. Bajo el caos, la violencia y el pesado filo de la guillotina de la Revolución francesa muere un rey, y con él también comienza la muerte de todo un pasado al que llamamos Antiguo Régimen. Es el inicio del poder de la burguesía, del liberalismo político y de una democracia que aún es débil.

En gran Bretaña, en la misma época, nace otra revolución muy distinta. Aquí el viejo mundo no muerte bajo el ritmo frenético de la guillotina, sino bajo el movimiento imparable de las máquinas, del carbón y de las industrias. Ha nacido la Revolución industrial. En este vídeo, Flocabulary nos canta sobre esta época marcada por las resonantes fábricas y las tecnologías. Pero este también es un período duro y convulso de trabajadores y familias pobres, trabajo demoledor y ciudades y barrios sucios y contaminados. Vamos a escuchar cómo lo pinta el rap de Flovabulary.

Alright now, look! It’s the 18th Century,
And things just haven’t changed much.
But listen to this real quick…

With so many problems in the world today,
It’s kind of hard F-A-R-M-ing OK?
No time to play sports or sit back,
No time to watch shows or spit raps.
When farm technology improved,
Farmland gave us more food. Cool!
What should we do with this extra food?
Let’s make babies and feed it to them with a spoon.
So the population boomed,
Doubling in Europe, and then doubling again soon.
With more kids, we need more clothes,
We can’t stitch by those hand, oh no!
I’ll build a mill with machines that sew,
Textile industry is looming, yo.
James Watt had a dream these machines,
Would work better on steam, so we’ve seen:
More steam, more coal, more slums, more smoke,
Less time, less space, life is less slow.
More middle class, more time for lamping,
More lamps and I don’t mean the kind for camping.
Whoa, I’m sending out an SOS; I can’t help myself,
I’ve got the brand new Morse code.
Telegraph is like sending a text,
So wave bye-bye to the Pony Express,
See ya!

We chase the industrial dream,
Where power moves from man's hands to machines.
Combustion, electricity and steam,
A new socio-economic regime. (x2)

Oh hey, come and work in my factory,
You can be any age. "10?" Yeah, exactly.
You could be a girl, too, that’s ok,
As long as you don’t mind all work and no breaks.
Pay’s cheap, you’ll be packing meat sitting in seat,
You’ll get beat if you ever fall asleep.
You’re in pain? Of course, you’re in labor!
Pack your own lunch; we’re not catered.
Slip up? And I hope you brought gauze,
Mess around and you could get a finger chopped off.
This is How the Other Half Lives,
In a crib-sized crib full of dirty little kids.
In slums and tenements, it’s evident,
Nothing sweet for the poor, no Entenmann’s.
This city’s big now, and it’s filthy,
You’re a victim of the system, feel me?
This free enterprise got my money on the rise,
Got my pockets full of green faces, face it.
I’d like to buy Adam Smith a drink,
Capitalism’s sweet; I don’t know what y’all think! ("Jolly good!")
Communism, oooh, I don’t think so,
I want to be a fat cat sitting in a mink coat.
You want us all paid the same, Karl Marx?
Pay the lead actors the same as the small parts?
Forget that, I’m riding these trains,
If you’re poor on the tracks, better get out my way!
For real son, move, run,
You’re on blast: It’s the Industrial Revolution.

We chase the industrial dream,
Where power moves from man's hands to machines.
Combustion, electricity and steam,
A new socio-economic regime. (x2)

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