A MUST SEE: "Roots" - An English band's plea

Confederate Colonel ^ | July 5, 2010 | Stephen Clay McGehee

[ChocChipCookie]

I found this video and commentary on the blog, Confederate Colonel, and was so moved by the sentiments of the lyrics and the sincerity of the musicians. Our long-time allies, the Brits, have lost so much of their heritage and from so many reports it seems their nation is being swallowed up by political correctness, Muslims, and a combination of the two.

Here are the lyrics, but you must watch the video for the full impact. You'll be as moved as I was.

"Roots" by the English band, Show of Hands

Now it’s been 25 years or more I’ve roamed this land from shore to shore From Tyne to Teign, or 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 own 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 Wales 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 and the Union Jack That’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…

[ChocChipCookie]

I wish we could embed videos here on FR, but click on the link. It's worth 4:17 minutes of your time.

[ChocChipCookie]

http://www.confederatecolonel.com/?p=255

[Windflier]

Artists create the culture. They plant the seeds of ideas that germinate in people’s heads. Those seeds bear fruit of real changes in the culture.

I hope that this artist’s song becomes an anthem in Great Britain and inspires those people to recapture the soul of their nation before it’s lost to posterity forever.

[philman_36]

Poor blokes. It's enough to make you feel sorry for 'em for not doing something about it twenty years ago. It's a little late to cry now.
The original, natural Brits don't make enough babies and they'll simply be displaced, eventually.

[ChocChipCookie]

It’s likely the same things will be said about America in another decade, or less.

[Minus_The_Bear]

Welcome to America 15 years ago.

[Cloverfarm]

It’s a catchy song ... and I was humming along in agreement until it occurred to me that my English ancestors have been over here since the 1700s. Maybe earlier. Why would I still feel any connection? Where in England did my family come from? Nobody knows. Maybe Yorkshire, if that’s where UK rednecks originated.

I think my family’s few English traits are fair hair, non-tanning skin and an ability to eat potatoes three meals a day!

[philman_36]

Welcome to America 15 years ago.
Not really. We have no singular racial history like Britain does (or did). America is the Heinz 57 (that's a dog reference) of the world.

[philman_36]

See #8.

[Windflier]

...it occurred to me that my English ancestors have been over here since the 1700s. Maybe earlier.

Same here. Mine were from Wales and Scotland. One of my Welsh ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, which I only recently discovered. I'm quite proud of that.

Why would I still feel any connection?

Well, England is the mother country of the US. We've got a cultural bond that goes back centuries with those people. I lived there for about a year in the late 80's, and that fact became very real to me during that time.

I think my family’s few English traits are fair hair, non-tanning skin and an ability to eat potatoes three meals a day!

After my Scot/Welsh ancestors arrived, they began inter-marrying with people from Native American and other immigrant stocks. My branch of the family is no longer fair-skinned, but we sure can eat some potatoes!