Steve Knightley of Show of Hands has just written a song called 'Roots' which he started writing after hearing Kim Howells saying that his vision of hell was hearing three folks singers playing in a Somerset pub.He was so outraged that he decided to do something about it....he also spreads the word about this bill at Show of Hands gigs, trying to wake everyone up to what is happening, not just with this new law but also to how we have let go of our music and our traditions.
Music it seems to me, is the only way left to deal with the apathy in this nation.....if that is now going to be taken away as well then we all need to hang our heads in shame at what we have let happen.
2005? Read 1984 and shudder!
Here are some of the lyrics if anyone is interested. It's not available yet on CD but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it is. Better still get to a Show of Hands gig and hear it for yourself! The chords and full translation are available on the Show of Hands fan site...LONGDOGS...you can get there via the Show of Hands messageboard:
Just click on 'messageboard' and it will show either 'Show of Hands' or 'Longdogs'....obviously...click on Longdogs, sign in and you're there.
This is the section of his song that deals with Kim Howells:
'ROOTS' by Steve Knightley
......
..."And the Minister says his vision of hell
Is three folk singers in a pub near Wells.
I've got a vision of urban sprawl
Pubs where no one ever sings at all.
And everyone is staring at a TV screen
Overpaid soccer stars, prancing teens
Australian Soap, American Rap,
Estury English, Baseball Cap,
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 came from
Take St. George and The Union Jack
It's my flag too, I want it back
Chorus:
Seed, bud, flower, fruit,
Never going to grow without their roots,
Branch, stem, roots..they need roots...and..
Haul away boys let them go,
Out in the wind and rain and snow,
So guys....get out there and take this song to every corner of the nation. Give us back our pride, our singers, our stories, our heritage, our music and...our freedom to sing where we want, when we want!
Lizzie :0)
"We've lost more than we'll ever know, on the rocky shores of England."