Radio Paradise (mobile)

Now it's been 25 years or more
I've roamed this land from shore to shore
From Tyne to Tamar, Severn to Thames
From moor to vale, from peak to fen
Played in cafes, pubs and bars
I've stood in the street with my old guitar
But I'd be richer than all the rest
If I had a pound for each request
For 'Duelling Banjos', 'American Pie'
It's enough to make you cry
'Rule Britannia', or 'Swing low...'
Are they the only songs we English know?
Seed, bark, flower, fruit
They're never gonna grow without their roots
Branch, stem, shoot
They need roots
After the speeches, when the cake's been cut
The disco's over and the bar is shut
At christening, birthday, wedding or wake
What can we sing 'til the morning breaks
When the Indians, Asians, Afro-Celts
It's in their blood, below their belt
They're playing and dancing all night long
So what have they got right that we've got wrong?
Seed, bark, flower, fruit
They're never gonna grow without their roots
Branch, stem, shoot
They need roots and
Haul away boys, let them go
Out in the wind and the rain and snow
We've lost more than we'll ever know
'Round the rocky shores of England
We need roots
And a minister said his vision of hell
Is three folk singers in a pub near Wells
Well, I've got a vision of urban sprawl
There's pubs where no-one ever sings at all
And everyone stares at a great big screen
Overpaid soccer stars, prancing teens
Australian soap, American rap
Estuary English, baseball caps
And we learn to be ashamed before we walk
Of the way we look, and the way we talk
Without our stories or our songs
How will we know where we come from?
I've lost St. George in the Union Jack
It's my flag too and I want it back
Seed, bark, flower, fruit
Never gonna grow without their roots
Branch, stem, shoot
We need roots
Haul away boys, let them go
Out in the wind and the rain and snow
We've lost more than we'll ever know
'Round the rocky shores of England
We need roots...

Isabeau Apr 03, 2013 - 18:03	Like [ Reply ]
coy Dec 30, 2012 - 14:50	sanctimonious seditious i like it [ Reply ]
Art_Carnage Oct 28, 2012 - 21:33	oldsaxon wrote: I see your point but disagree with it. This is undeniably a fine English folk song. It borrows brilliantly from traditional, but it is, like afro-Celts, who are mentioned in the lyric, a new, exciting and proud version of a wonderful tradition. Good song. I believe I gave it an 8....might be a nine....clever writing that It's not about just singing English folk songs, but of using the old songs as a carrier of history of tradition. My point stands. [ Reply ]
ballymuck Sep 27, 2012 - 10:30	I am in sympathy with the lyrics, but the music itself totally undercuts the message. "Why do the English turn their backs on their own folk music" the song seems to ask. Maybe because too much of it sounds like tired old sea shanties - a bit like this song. [ Reply ]
Sloggydog Sep 27, 2012 - 10:09	I adore both songs but for the first time ever when listening to RP I would have to say ouch on that segway. [ Reply ]
Ag3nt0rang3 Jul 26, 2012 - 11:58	I don't know, I'm torn about this song. On the one hand, it does a pretty good job of boosting national pride while downplaying the worst aspects of nationalism. On the other hand, I'm not English, so this doesn't really speak to me at all. [ Reply ]
Egrey Jul 26, 2012 - 11:53	Just taking a moment out of my day to say that this song sux. I'll take my preachin' in church thany you very much. [ Reply ]
oldsaxon Apr 22, 2012 - 12:02	Art_Carnage wrote: Ah, the irony of composing and recording a brand new song about how people don't listing to traditional music any more. I see your point but disagree with it. This is undeniably a fine English folk song. It borrows brilliantly from traditional, but it is, like afro-Celts, who are mentioned in the lyric, a new, exciting and proud version of a wonderful tradition. Good song. I believe I gave it an 8....might be a nine....clever writing that [ Reply ]
sajitjacob Mar 21, 2012 - 19:24	I have a sudden hankering for the Levellers [ Reply ]
Pilgrim301 Dec 17, 2011 - 14:34	Love love LOVE this song — thanks so much for putting it on your playlist! :) [ Reply ]
Art_Carnage Aug 13, 2011 - 09:59	Ah, the irony of composing and recording a brand new song about how people don't listing to traditional music any more. [ Reply ]
Hannio May 23, 2011 - 07:30	Cynaera wrote: Stingray - please just go away. You've gone from being a novelty to being an infant. The problem is that some people here might actually read your comments and believe in you. (And may they go away, too.) I've reached my limit of troll-dom, so from now on, I won't hold back from vitriolic comments regarding trolls. Well, geez - target-practice as therapy is a good thing, right? Careful. If you respond to trolls you eventually become one yourself. That's how they propagate. [ Reply ]
bluematrix May 23, 2011 - 07:09	thinks about the british music invasion and how the beatles, the stones, the who etc. really dominated the american music landscape for quite awhile. [ Reply ]
fredriley May 23, 2011 - 07:00	Stingray wrote: Is being more ridiculous possible at all...? PS for a real cynical laugh scroll down and read. Am I crazy, stupid and have no clue? Or are some folks just kidding me with their banana-comments ("...shivers down my timbers?" Whaaat...?) It's difficult to be more ridiculous than you, O Troll. And yes, you have no clue as to what you're ranting about, as usual. This song talks to all in the UK, and specifically England, in these highly-charged days of progressive Scottish and Welsh nationalism and reactionary English nationalism. It's a plea for a progressive English culture, for English folk to recover their radical roots (Wat Tyler, Levellers, Tolpuddle Martyrs, Poll Tax riots, etc, etc), reclaim nationalism from the nazis and fascists (just like the ones in your homeland these days, mate) and White Van Men, and recover pride in themselves as the Welsh and Scottish have already done. Try listening and understanding rather than just slagging off reflexively. The lyrics are quoted below by Cynaera, so you don't even have to listen to the song. Engage your brain before writing. [ Reply ]
Cynaera Apr 21, 2011 - 17:44	Stingray wrote: Is being more ridiculous possible at all...? PS for a real cynical laugh scroll down and read. Am I crazy, stupid and have no clue? Or are some folks just kidding me with their banana-comments ("...shivers down my timbers?" Whaaat...?) Stingray - please just go away. You've gone from being a novelty to being an infant. The problem is that some people here might actually read your comments and believe in you. (And may they go away, too.) I've reached my limit of troll-dom, so from now on, I won't hold back from vitriolic comments regarding trolls. Well, geez - target-practice as therapy is a good thing, right? [ Reply ]
mvanderford60 Apr 21, 2011 - 17:44	Roots, indeed. Whingeing about the fruits of 400 years of global imperialism. Sucks to be a rich country. [ Reply ]
Cynaera Apr 21, 2011 - 17:40	Now it's been 25 years or more I've roamed this land from shore to shore From Tyne to Tamar, Severn to Thames From moor to vale, from peak to fen Played in cafes, pubs and bars I've stood in the street with my old guitar But I'd be richer than all the rest If I had a pound for each request For 'Duelling Banjos', 'American Pie' It's enough to make you cry 'Rule Britannia', or 'Swing low...' Are they the only songs we English know? Seed, bud, flower, fruit They're never gonna grow without their roots Branch, stem, shoot They need roots After the speeches, when the cake's been cut The disco's over and the bar is shut At christening, birthday, wedding or wake What can we sing 'til the morning breaks When the Indians, Asians, Afro-Celts It's in their blood, below their belt They're playing and dancing all night long So what have they got right that we've got wrong? Seed, bud, flower, fruit They're never gonna grow without their roots Branch, stem, shoot They need roots and Haul away boys, let them go Out in the wind and the rain and snow We've lost more than we'll ever know 'Round the rocky shores of England Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com We need roots And a minister said his vision of hell Is three folk singers in a pub near Wells Well, I've got a vision of urban sprawl There's pubs where no-one ever sings at all And everyone stares at a great big screen Overpaid soccer stars, prancing teens Australian soap, American rap Estuary English, baseball caps And we learn to be ashamed before we walk Of the way we look, and the way we talk Without our stories or our songs How will we know where we come from? I've lost St. George in the Union Jack It's my flag too and I want it back Seed, bud, flower, fruit Never gonna grow without their roots Branch, stem, shoot We need roots Haul away boys, let them go Out in the wind and the rain and snow We've lost more than we'll ever know 'Round the rocky shores of England We need roots... [ Reply ]
lemmoth Apr 09, 2011 - 04:25	Interesting commentary on this song and the attem pted appropriation by the British National Party here http://fitzroy.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/roots-by-show-of-hands-of-course-the-bnp-love-it/ - [ Reply ]
jools Feb 05, 2011 - 08:11	fredriley wrote: Er, well I've been studying this field in quite some detail lately as part of a distance course in Gaelic culture, and I can tell you with some certainty that various flavours of Celts preceded the Angles and Saxons by some considerable time. There were four Celtic peoples in the island: P-Celts, Q-Celts, Picts and Britons, all of whom came from various parts of Europe. The original peoples were those of prehistory and there were neolithic settlements in the island before the Celts, right enough. I could provide various references and links but I suspect that would be rather wasted on a music board. Best not mess with the Fredster - he knows of what he speaks! [ Reply ]
Stingray Jan 17, 2011 - 15:04	oilydwarf wrote: hell - 3 folk singers in a pub near wells!! I live in Somerset, once went to my local pub and saw 4 - absolute hell on earth!!!!! I saw 5 dwarfs once! In winter in Somerset. Coffee makes me nervous, when I drink it... [ Reply ]