Strawberry Girl - Youth of Roots

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...

Shadow of cloud falls and with it a chill High o'er heather, hawk hover the hill Just begun is my journey and Danu's my name I am the juggler of fortune and fame Let me not hear facts, figures and logic Fain would I hear lore, legends and magic Let me not hear facts, figures and logic Fain would I hear lore, legends and magic Let me not hear facts, figures and logic Fain would I hear lore, legends and magic Let me not hear facts, figures and logic Fain would I hear lore, legends and magic Feathers of raven, slithers of coal Armour of silver in the mackerel shoal Sun in the west it is ruby blood red Travelers a-weary do make their bed Let me not hear facts, figures and logic Fain would I hear lore, legends and magic Let me not hear facts, figures and logic Fain would I hear lore, legends and magic Let me not hear facts, figures and logic Fain would I hear lore, legends and magic Let me not hear facts, figures and logic Fain would I hear lore, legends and magic

I left a four lane highway, took a black top seven miles Down by the old country school I went to as a child Two miles down the gravel road I could see a proud old home A tribute to a way of life That's almost come and gone The roots of my raising run deep I've come back for the strength that I need And hope comes no matter how far down I sink The roots of my raising run deep I pulled up in the driveway And boy, it sure was good to be there And I could see through the open door that Dad was asleep in his favorite chair In his hand was a picture of mom And I remember how close they were So, I just turned away I didn't want to wake him Spoil his dreams of her A Christian mom who had the strength for life the way she did Then to pull that apron off and do the Charleston for us kids Dad, a quiet man, whose gentle voice was seldom heard Who could borrow money at the back simply on his word The roots of my raising run deep I've come back for the strength that I need And hope comes no matter how far down I sink The roots of my raising run deep The roots of my raising run deep