English Revolution

Some pretty folk songs,
some stirring classics,
otherwise just tired ditties,
sung in music halls,
played on washboards.

But then in early 60s
this little stuffy land
changed its tune,
the air got bluesy,
soulful, rocking,
stones began to roll,
burdens lifting,
animals appealing,
unearthing beetles,
rising cream,
singing yard birds,
flying zeppelins.

Forging heavy metal,
merseybeat,
northern soul,
moddish pop
and other new sounds,
from the template
of her cross-Atlantic cousins;
yet implanted
in her own groove,
English outlook,
style and mood;
so too in glam and punk rock,
new romantic,
synth pop, Brit pop,
echoes of the music hall
reverberate.