We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Heart of England

from Sheltermore by Kevin Adams

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £1 GBP  or more

     

about

Autobiography. The elusive nature of Englishness. I had a long list of cliches, and worked as many as I could into the song.

lyrics

The Heart of England
Words & music Kevin Adams

It’s the best kept village but it’s not so far
To a hedge full of litter and a burnt out car
And down in the meadow where the elm trees grew
The council are going to put a bypass through
So why, I can’t explain, I begin the search again
And my thoughts drift down some other leafy lane.

The village green and a glass of ale
Get your bids in quick ‘cos it’s up for sale
Where the bee sucks there suck I
Where the chain saws are ripping up a triple-S.I.
And I can no longer stay ‘cos the traffic moves away
And I’m on that slip road to the motorway

All my life I’ve been looking for the heart of England
All my days I’ve been wondering where I am.
All my life I’ve been looking for the heart of England
All my days I’ve been wondering where I am.

A cracked voice sings from a phonograph
The Rigs of the Times and the Seeds of Love
Bells on shin pads, bells on toes
We’ll have music wherever we go
It’s a Whitsun holiday, hear the concertina play
Then the juke box starts and the tune is blown away

All my life I’ve been looking for the heart of England
All my days I’ve been wondering where I am.
All my life I’ve been looking for the heart of England
All my days I’ve been wondering where I am.

The dancers standing row on row, the fiddler rosins up the bow
And the only tune that fiddle could play
Was Over the Hills and Far Away.

The thin red line has had its finest hour
The ravens are queuing up to leave the Tower
The kids are bashing hell out of old Drake’s Drum
And the Yankees are taking us to Kingdom Come
But I know there’s something there
I can feel it in the air
The heart still beats but I can’t quite work out where.

All my life I’ve been looking for the heart of England
All my days I’ve been wondering where I am.
All my life I’ve been looking for the heart of England
All my days I’ve been wondering where I am.

When I was a boy I thought I would
Live in the forest with Robin Hood
Ancient secrets wait for me
Under the Shade of the Greenwood Tree

All my life I’ve been looking for the heart of England
All my days I’ve been wondering where I am.
All my life I’ve been looking for the heart of England
All my days I’ve been wondering where I am.

credits

from Sheltermore, released September 11, 2015
Words & music: Kevin Adams
Martin Appleby: bass guitar. Thanks Mart!

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Kevin Adams Milton Keynes, UK

Blending traditional folk music with a love of other genres- classical, jazz, folk-rock, prog-rock, pop… music, music, music…

contact / help

Contact Kevin Adams

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

Kevin Adams recommends:

If you like Kevin Adams, you may also like: