"The Roast Beef of Old England" is a phrase denoting the high standard of living there. As far as I know it was first used by Hogarth in a series of sketches called "The Roast Beef of Old England". He depicts the English dining on (presumably) roast beef while the French are digging under rocks for their food (frogs?). I heard that he was arrested at the French border for trying to cross without the proper credentials and as a result became anti-French.

"Hard Cheese" is a phrase meaning "tough luck". Besides the song in the database making fun of the English Cheeses and the English attitude towards them, the title seems to have a parody content as well.

Murray