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What It Was That Made Me, Me
by John H Thomas Jr
My name is Johnny Thomas
It was British that I knew
English muffins, tea, God Save the Queen
A sailor through and through
but it was fate I was born too late
to know my old grand dad
who took a ship from England
when he was just a lad
And sailed here to America
Which is where he had my dad
Who in his turn, in ’44,
My dad helped mom make me
Now life is full of twists and turns
surely you must agree
so one fine day I finally asked
what it was that made me, me
Well, off I went with purpose
Pen and paper in my hand
to find exactly where and when
He came from Eng-a-land
I found in local records
He came from Ferryhill
A town outside of Durham
and, yes, it was there still
With money borrowed from mommy dear
I flew with port in hand
across the cold, deep ocean drear
to cold, drear Eng-a-land
The plane set down at Heathrow
and I was on the go
I took a train and headed north
Where the Scottish winds do blow
And when I got to Durham
a bus then did I take
and headed down to Ferryhill
to dine on eggs and steak
I met a lot of people
even made some locals laugh
but questions bubbled in my brain
when they called me a "Bloody Taff" |
A Taff, said I, now what is that
and in reply they said
A Taff is a bloody Welshman
be he fair, thin, short, or fat
It gave me lots to think about
My mind blew east then west
My heritage now seemed in doubt
And put my culture to the test
Then down I went to Cardiff
The capital of Wales
to once again begin my search
amidst the valleys, hills, and vales
‘Twas here I learned that mining
Was the main Welsh way of life
and my great grand Dad‘d been a miner
in the coal fields with his wife
They lived in an English colliery
where my old grand dad was born
but it had been very obvious
they hadn’t been there very long
I learned the Welsh moved quite a lot
to find work where they could
Could it be the family moved from Wales
To England likely or not
Traveling Wales soon filled my head
with wondrous sights to see
Wizards, dragons, mythic tales
From Celtic history
Songs and singers everywhere
Echoed through the hills
Oh, Wales, Cymru, I had to see
It all appealed to me
My mind then soared through space and time
I walked the land with men
Like Merlin, Arthur, and Owain Glyndwr
And heard their battle din
All harmonized with poet’s words
it was beautiful but then
a slag-choked valley, black stained men
the scene had changed again
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I heard their voices, knew their words
"Bore da, Dai, shw Mae heddiw"?
Walking with those weary men
told me here was where I was from, I knew
I felt the ties, I felt the pain
As one we walked the path
From the lonely hillside houses
To the pit which held the vein
Down in the Rhondda Valley
Welsh coal to fuel the world
But the English made the money
While the mines they took their toll
Unions formed for workers’ rights
Violent strikes rolled through the night
Jobs were lost and men were killed
but England held on tight
To save their jobs and keep their lives
Welsh miners ventured forth
to find more work in England
In the coal fields of the north
Many made the trip to Durham
that’s where I went myself
Along with scores of others
like books upon a shelf
We stretched from Wales to Scotland
Brave comrades one and all
to find a life and get a wife
and together rise or fall
Still times were hard and money short
Things hadn’t changed at all
So many looked out westward
Towards Eden ‘fore the fall |
Patagonia – America
and a few points in between
We saved our quid and boarded ship
and sailed to ports unseen
It was I woke as from a dream
This song was in my mind
I flew back to the USA
Just in time to find
My life now took a different course
New purpose did I see
And I thank the force, which helped me find
What it was that made me, me
Oh, I thank the force that let me find
What it was that made me, me
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