"Shake the holy water; summon up the guard...""Babbacombe" Lee - the Man They Could Not...

Back in the early 70s everybody had to do a "rock opera" album.And Fairport Cenvention eas, or wanted to be, Somebody.Dave Swarbrick found a book his father had had, about convicted killer John "Babbacombe" Lee - "The Man They Could Not Hang". And that was the genesis of Fairport's (slightly more commercial) equivalent of Zappa's *Lumpy Gravy*.Under British law at the time of Lee's conviction, provision was made for Divine Interbention - if they trid unsuccessfully, three times, to carry out the death sentence and were unable to, it was taken as a Sign that the condemned was Not Guilty.And, in the case of "Babbacombe" Lee, that is exactly what happened. And he was reprieved, at least so far as the sentence of death for murder went.However, having been also convicted of lesser crimes, like burglary and assault, he didn't go free - he was transported to the penal colony in Australia.Anyway, Swarb was fascinated by the story, and so the members of Fairport Convention wrote and recorded a "folk-rock opera" called *"Babbacombe" Lee*.I'm fairly sure their record label was not ecstatic about the album, nor about its probable sales.Herewith Wake Up John (Hanging Song) from the album *"Babbacombe" Lee*.
It was traditional for the hangman to shake hands with the condemned, both to symbolise that he was not acting in malice, but rather through duty, and to gauge whether the condemned had gained or lost weight, so that the drop would be right, or could be corrected if necessary.
If the drop was not long enough (that is, if the condemned was lighter than expected), he wouldn't get up enouh momentum to ensure that his neck would be cleanly broken, and he would strangle, which was considered unnecessarily cruel. (You're killing him anyway, why make him suffer?)
On the other hand, if the condemend was much heavier than expected, and the drop was too long, his head might literally be torn off.
Which would be messy...