Down-tuned two semi tones, alternatively standard tuning in Em A5 Now it's been twenty-five years or more, I've roamed this land from shore to shore D5 From Tyne to Tamar, Severn to Thames A5 From moor to vale, from peak to fen A5 Played in cafes and pubs and bars, I've stood in the street with my old guitar D5 But I'd be richer than all the rest A5 If I had a pound for each request C5 F5 For 'Duelling Banjos' 'American Pie' C5 G5 Its enough to make you cry A5 F5 'Rule Britannia' or 'Swing Low' G5 Are they the only songs the English know? A5 F5 Seed, bud, flower, fruit A5 G5 They're never gonna grow without their roots C5 D5 A5 Branch, stem , shoots - they need roots After the speeches when the cake's been cut The disco is over and the bar is shut At christening, birthday, wedding or wake What can we sing until the morning breaks? When the Indian, Asians, Afro, Celts It's in their blood, below the belt They're playing and dancing all night long So what have they got right that we've got wrong? Seed, bud, flower, fruit Never gonna grow without their roots Branch, stem , shoots - we need roots A5 Haul away boys let them go Out in the wind and the rain and snow D5 We've lost more than well ever know Round the rocky shores of England And a minister said his vision of hell Is three folk singers in a pub near Wells Well I've got a vision of urban sprawl It's pubs where no one ever sings at all And everyone stares at a great big screen Over-paid soccer stars, prancing teens Australian soap, American rap Estuary English, baseball caps And 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 weve come from? I've lost St George in the Union Jack It's my flag too and I want it back Seed, bud, flower, fruit Never gonna grow without their roots Branch, stem , shoots - we need roots Haul away boys let them go Out in the wind and the rain and snow We've lost more than we'll ever know Round the rocky shores of England