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This Isn't Newport

by Talis Kimberley

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about

'Wartime Farm' episode 3 told me about the Starfish Sites, one of which was sited not far from the town outside which I now live. I was stunned at the tale of brave men and women building mockups of vulnerable towns and so on, setting contained fires to mimic the burning of the places they were protecting.

This is a 'scratch track' - it's a live recording a few days after writing the song so that you can hear it while the series that inspired it is still current. It follows 'Jervis Bay' which I uploaded recently.

Many more songs are available here and at my main website, www.talis.net . I hope you enjoy listening.

lyrics

THIS ISN’T NEWPORT



Nothing much here but the sheep and the moorland
Doesn’t look much like a starfish at all
Oil pans and diesel with felt, coal and creosote
Brave men and women beyond the blast wall
This isn’t Newport, this isn’t Southampton
This isn’t Bristol, and this isn’t Crewe
We are the decoys and look at us burning!
The cities are safe if we’re here fooling you

Daytime you wouldn’t look twice at these buildings
A few walls and huts among bracken and fern
But here are the fire-baskets waiting to kindle -
Blaze like the cities you’re trying to burn
This isn’t London, and this isn’t Manchester
Derby’s four miles away, Sheffield’s not here
Glasgow and Middlesborough both have their decoys and
We’re building more of them year after year

I used to go fishing and sit by the reservoirs
Took both my boys out when they were still lads
What you were after and what kind of bait you used
Learned as a youngster out fishing with Dad.
Now we’re the bait and we want you to find us
Starfishes up and down all this dear land
Airfields and factories, railways and cities
Tonight we’ll be burning, tomorrow they’ll stand

This isn’t Newport, this isn’t Southampton
This isn’t Bristol, and this isn’t Crewe
We are the decoys and look at us burning!
The cities are safe if we’re here fooling you!

credits

released October 4, 2012
Words & music by and © Talis Kimberley 20th September 2012

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about

Talis Kimberley UK

"I'm a songwriter and singer; my songs are spun from folklore and history, stirred well with a hazel wand and served with cake. I'll sing you ravens and bones and the story behind the story, I'll sing you bread and apples, ghosts and knitting, and bring you home with a pocketful of feathers and hope"

Voice / guitar / English concertina

Festivals, folk clubs, libraries, museums, & protests...
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