Land of ungratefulness, land of misrule,
Whose voice is resentment, whose actions are cruel,
Whose policy is to traumatize, whose enemy is hope,
It’s a hostile environment and a slippery slope.
Kamal dreams of living in his daddy’s house in Brum
But he’s locked up in Yarl’s Wood with his sister and mum.
“Oh we recognize it’s desirable to reunite kith and kin
But it’s a hostile environment and you ain’t coming in.”
Nicolette has run her café since 1994.
Now if she can’t find a pile of paperwork they’ll show her the door.
“Yeah we know you’ve paid your tax all these 25 years
But it’s a hostile environment so what’s with the tears?”
Cherry last saw Trinidad when she was just five.
In her seventies now, she sees a prison-van arrive.
“As you appear to have no passport let us make you aware
That it’s a hostile environment and your home is back there.”
Land of ungratefulness, land of misrule,
Whose voice is resentment, whose actions are cruel,
Whose policy is to traumatize, whose enemy is hope,
It’s a hostile environment and a slippery slope.
Click here for a version recorded at home, September 2019
Click here for a version performed by Hugh Miller, July 2020
Click here for a version performed by Matt Blick, April 2021
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Published by
Paul Carbuncle
“Excellent!”, “Immaculate!”, “Wonderful views!”, “We had to ask for more towels!”. These are just some of the comments made by lovers of folk music who have stayed in bed-and-breakfast accommodation in Paul Carbuncle’s home county of Kent. Now living in Nottingham, Paul has been playing scores of gigs to relatively ruly crowds at pubs and folk clubs in Notts and Derbyshire, on evenings which have been described enthusiastically as “Saturday” and “Wednesday” and sometimes “Friday”. The Midlands magazine “Folk Monthly” labelled him “bourgeoning”, back in the days before spell-check (2015). Since winning the Gate To Southwell Folk Festival Open Mic Competition this summer, Paul has spent much of his spare time sitting next to the telephone ready for stardom to call. When the call finally arrived, at tea-time yesterday, it came as a great joy to learn that he may have been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance. In a recent interview with a lady who said she was from off of the telly, Paul deftly cleared up once and for all any mystery surrounding his chosen musical genre. “Some call it folk-punk,” he explained, “while others call it punk-folk. Either is acceptable. But over-blend it and you’ll end up with funk or polk, and I’m sure none of us wants that. It’s rather like mixing the grape and the grain... you’ve got to be careful not to end up with muesli.” Paul Carbuncle uses Jim Dunlop 1mm plectrums.
View all posts by Paul Carbuncle
Paul Carbuncle 