Farewell to the Brine

The story was ended before I was born,
Of a land that was fertile with cattle and corn,
Milk in the dairy and plough on the hill,
Cheese for the market and corn for the mill.

Sour the milk, bitter the wine bid farewell to the brine.

But the big men who moved to the north end of town,
For the rock salt and brine which lay under the ground,
With pithead and pumphouse and money to hand,
They bought out the farmer and ruined the land.

Sour the milk, bitter the wine bid farewell to the brine.

But the mines are all flooded, the pitshafts all filled,
But the ground keeps on sinking, it's not safe to build,
And the land is all wasted and covered with lime,
Give thanks to the men who came to pump brine.

Sour the milk, bitter the wine bid farewell to the brine.

And streets that are empty and houses that slant,
Are blackened by smoke from the chemical plant,
It's good for employment, I heard the men say,
But what will you do now they're moving away.

Sour the milk, bitter the wine bid farewell to the brine

Now the boatyard stands idle all reddened with rust,
And the wind from the river scatters the dust,
And the timbers are rotten and fall to the ground,
There's never a workman and never a sound.

Sour the milk, bitter the wine bid farewell to the brine

 
Written: Pete Coe
Published: Backshift Music PRS MCPS
From the CD “The Man in The Red Van”
BACKSHIFT MUSIC  BASH CD63  ©2017

Farewell to the Brine was performed by Cheshire folk band The Time Bandits at 'The Great Salt'.