The Goose and the Common

"The Goose and the Common", also referred to as "Stealing the Common from the Goose", is a poem written by an unknown author that makes a social commentary on the social injustice caused by the privatization of common land during the enclosures in England.^[1] It was first recorded in a magazine in 1821 where it was quoted in full,^[2] but it is estimated to have been written in the late 18th century.^[3][4] The poem is composed of 4 stanzas, each with two pairs of rhyming couplets.

The poem is often quoted or referenced in connection to the privatization of common resources, such as seed genetics,^[5] the human genome^[6] and taxpayer funded drug research.^[7]

Text

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
But leaves the greater villain loose
Who steals the common from off the goose.

The law demands that we atone
When we take things we do not own
But leaves the lords and ladies fine
Who take things that are yours and mine.

The poor and wretched don’t escape
If they conspire the law to break;
This must be so but they endure
Those who conspire to make the law.

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
And geese will still a common lack
Till they go and steal it back

— Anonymous, "The Goose and the Common"^[3]

Derivative works

The posthumously released 2014 compilation album Rarities Volumes 1 & 2 by experimental musician Lindsay Cooper features "The Song of the Goose and the Common" which features lyrics adapted from the poem.

In the 2019 album Enclosure by The Askew Sisters, the poem is sung accompanied by cello and triangle in the track "Goose and Common".^[8]

The 2020 music video, "The Goose and the Common", a collaboration between Shadab Shayegan (director, animation) and Heaven Sent Cat (music), has the poem fully included within the lyrics.^[9]

See also

• Omnia sunt communia

References