frank turner, “rivers”
from: england keep my bones, 2011
“Our history runs down our rivers,
Down our rivers to the sea.
Reminds us of the things that matter:
Home and hearth and history.
And all our sins will be forgiven,
Washed away to set us free,
By the rivers that run through our homesteads,
By myth and modal melody.
I trace these rivers from the cities to the seas
To remind me of what I already know.
I trace the shorelines through a thousand estuaries
To remind me: an island is my home.
I travelled far across this country,
Northumberland to the Southern Downs.
I wandered up the rolling Humber,
And down the Thames to London Town.
Countless lives were lived and lingered
In the Cotswolds and the Fells,
And left a tapestry called “England”,
Of life and those who lived it well.
Round here the sky is a little closer,
A little closer to the ground.
It’s hard for someone to get lost here,
Harder still to get found.
Though I’ve seen a thousand rivers,
From the Mississippi to the Rhine,
The only place that I’ll lay my hat down
Is by an English riverside.
So place your trust into the sea,
It’s kept us safe for centuries,
It shaped our shores and, steadily,
Its care has brought us calm.
When I die, I hope to be
Buried out in English seas,
So all that then remains of me
Will lap against these shores
Until England is no more.
”
For wardens of the Bop Shop who go down the rabbit holes researching musicians included in our presentations, you will find that Mr. Turner has been peddling hard all his life chasing the arts. His favorite band as a child was Iron Maiden. So that’s a tip off. The emphatically optimisstic guitar work of this probing song carries a punk flavor that you’ll find invigorates his work. He is also a big disciple of the political and historic questing of Billy Bragg.