Much to Catherine and Thomas’ disgust
Benny liked keeping a slave
They thought that abolition was just
He thought they should just behave
In fact, Benny liked keeping slaves so much
He purchased his local paper
And ran articles, polemics and such
About how he’d done slaves a favour
They’re much better clothed
And much better housed
And much better fed
The Herald espoused
Than your average English labour
He’d met Buck in the chapel
And they’d set about brewing beer
For the good, the great and the rabble
Of Bury St Edmunds, in the year
Of Our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Six
Old ale and porter too
And when The Blake’s found themselves in a fix
It was Benny who came through
And said, I’ll manage your plantations
In Monserrat and St Kitts
And many generations of Greenes
Will reap the benefits
His business grew, his chattels too
And though he found trafficking abhorrent
Keeping slaves, he’d happily pursue
As necessity, so he’d warrant
He fought the passage of The Slave Trade Act
Even quoting The Bible on occasion
And by 1833 he’d attract
Libel action, to his frustration
And so, three years later, he was off to the City
Leaving Edward to brew the beer
The compensation for freedom, more’s the pity
Going to Benny, not the slaves, it’s clear
Half a million in today’s money
Is what ol’ Benny got
While the freed slaves, not so lucky
Well, they got not a lot
And the wages on the plantations
That the freed slaves were now making
Never matched the profits or remunerations
That the Greene family were taking
And while Edward was running the brewery
Young Charles went out to St Kitts
Able, but with much tomfoolery
He left behind thirteen kids, the family now admits
All of whom were born illegitimately
As discovered by Sir Hugh Carleton Greene
Himself director of the BBC
And a great-nephew of Charlie Greene
(The novelist, Graeme Greene
Was another who carried the gene)
Now the good folk of St Kitts and Nevis
Frustrated by our government’s hesitation
Have said to Greene King, you owe us this
We demand our reparation
For the slavery days of Benny Greene
The money that he made
4.6 billion in 2019
Once off the backs of slaves
So, put down your pint of IPA
And listen to their tale
There’s more than hops, yeast and barley
In the story of your ale
Steve White & The Protest Family 
Much to Catherine and Thomas’ disgust
Ben loved keeping slaves
So much in fact, he bought the local paper
Ran stories and articles
About how he’d done his slaves a favour
Better clothed, better housed, better fed, he said
Better conditions than the English worker faces
Though there were no volunteers to swap places
Previously, he’d met Buck in the chapel
And they set about brewing beer
For the good folk of Bury St Edmunds
Old ale and porter, purveyors of good cheer
When his neighbours, the Blakes
Ran into money trouble
He took over their plantations
In St Kitts and Monserrat
Grew the business
And did very well
Off the backs of slaves, fancy that
Although he had no truck with trafficking, regrettably
Slavery, he said, was a business necessity
He fought the Slave Labour Act, hard
And some folk sued him for libel
So he took the money
And ran to the City
Set up a West India Company
With his slave owners compensation
Leaving son Edward to run the brewery
Young Charles went out to St Kitts
Leaving thirteen illegitimate kids in his wake
As later discovered descendent
Sir Hugh Carleton Greene
Director, no less, of the BBC
The brewery remained unrepentant
Now the people of St Kitts and Nevis
Fed up with government torpor
Are demanding reparations and such
Direct from Greene King
Who, acknowledge as much
On their web site, for those that read it
So Reader, set down your IPA
And listen to their tale
There’s more than hops, yeast and barley
In the story of your ale
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