Jacob's Ladder

Political expediency versus class; Winston Churchill let 1591 ordinary sailors drown after their ships were sunk off the coast of Norway in WW2 by German battle cruisers. Churchill thought a rescue attempt might have alerted the Germans to the evacuation of the Norwegian royal family, so ordered ships in the area to abandon the drowning men. Today's footnote would be the sinking of the Russian Kursk submarine; sailors drowned as President Putin put national pride before the need to call in foreign rescue teams.
Like rusty old nails
At the bottom of the sea
Telling no tales
For the good of the Admiralty
You jump when you're told to
Through the open door
And the King of Norway
He's the man you all died for
On this
Jacob's Ladder
The only way up is down
Three days in the water
Watching all the secrets drown
Jacob's Ladder
And they sent him to the wars to be slain
To be slain
And they sent him to the wars to be slain
A thousand lifetimes
Left standing at the docks
In the bar down in Whitehall
They're sure the boat won't rock
In a file marked 'Secret'
In a drawer kept closed
Nobody wonders
Because nobody knows
About this
Jacob's Ladder
The only way up is down
Three days in the water
Watching all the secrets drown
Jacob's Ladder
And they sent him to the wars to be slain
To be slain
And they sent him to the wars to be slain
On this
Jacob's Ladder
The only way up is down
Three days in the water
Watching all the secrets drown
Jacob's Ladder
O Bulldog Leader:
Sooner or later
We'll dig up the body
And try your cadaver