Concrete and Steel

Jim Wearne copyright 2015

 

 

Cornwall is beautiful, Cornwall is green,

Cornwall has history, free to be seen.

Farmers are laboring out on their lands,

Fishermen live by the strength of their hands.

Once there was mining that blackened the sky,

But filled Cornish pockets in days gone by.

Now there are hotels and beds to be made,

And drinks to be served in the cool Cornish shade.

Here comes the concrete, here comes the steel,

There go the villages, farms and green fields.

Here come the Londoners thousands a day,

Where are the Cornish? Faded away.

We started to notice, a little while back,

A kind of imbalance, a want and a lack.

Seemed to be more people serving the guests,

Than doing the work that the Cornish do best.

As time moved along it began to be clear,

Something was wrong and it seemed very queer.

Houses are growing where crops disappear,

Lived in by Londoners one month a year.

Here comes the concrete, here comes the steel,

There go the villages, farms and green fields.

Here come the Londoners thousands a day,

Where are the Cornish? Faded away.

Village shops find they no longer have trade,

Stock isn’t ordered and wages not paid.

Workingman’s cottages empty and sold,

Cornishmen jobless and out in the cold.

More and still more we watch Cornwall implode,

More steel and concrete would come up the road.

Farms and old villages all hauled away,

Covered in  concrete by acres a day.

Here comes the concrete, here comes the steel,

There go the villages, farms and green fields.

Here come the Londoners thousands a day,

Where are the Cornish? Faded away.

Where is the council and where is the State?

Who will defend us before it’s too late?

Why won’t the councilors fight for the land?

It’s life or it’s death, do they not understand?

Look at the moneyman, from London town,

Look at the councilors gather around.

Look at them smiling and shaking his hand,

Pulling the forelock, betraying the land.

Here comes the concrete, here comes the steel,

There go the villages, farms and green fields.

Here come the Londoners thousands a day,

Where are the Cornish? Faded away.

If this goes on and it looks like it might,

Cornwall will vanish with never a fight.

It will be stolen from under our feet,

England’s invasion will soon be complete.

Maybe it’s not quite too late for our land,

Maybe we’ll win if we just take a stand.

Make your decision before it’s all gone,

Make up your mind which side you are on.

Here comes the concrete, here comes the steel,

There go the villages, farms and green fields.

Here come the Londoners thousands a day,

Where are the Cornish? Faded away.