For others like me who didn't understand the reference to "Black Country": Wikipedia -- "The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of (but not inclusive of) Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation. The South Staffordshire coal mines, the coal coking operations, and the iron foundries and steel mills that used the local coal to fire their furnaces, produced a level of air pollution that had few equals anywhere in the world."

~ Becky in Long Beach