Jon Raven - The Song of the Staffordshire Men (traditional English folk song)

Lyrics:

There's many a task for the English folk,

And a man's a man always,

Who delves the coal and iron ore,

And shapes the potters' clay.

For this is the song of the Staffordshire men,

In forge, in kiln, in mine.

Our fires shall burn, and our mill-wheels turn

And the Knot shall be our sign.

There are forty shires that light their fires,

And bless the iron strong,

And the china bake the potters make,

As they sing the Stafford song.

We come of a race of yeomen bold,

Whose drink is the best of beer;

Our fields feed beasts for the Christmas feast

And you may share our Staffordshire cheer.

We marshal our ranks on the grey pit banks

And our lads on the football field,

If the cause be right, we are game to fight,

We never were known to yield.

      From Jon Raven's album The Ballad of the Black Country, a tribute to the county which may not be England's most picturesque, but has always been the most honest and down to earth. (Historically, the Black Country was actually divided between Staffordshire and Worcestershire, and is now part of the administrative county of the West Midlands). The English culture at it's finest.