BIRCHANGER GREEN
by Tim Bishop
[Can be sung to the tune of 'Fiddler's Green' by John Conolly]
As I paused in my journey on an evening so fair
I saw forests and fields and the cottages there
An old English village that many call home
Recorded in Doomsday but its doom has now come
They have plans for three thousand new houses
No more will the wild woods be seen
They tell me that one day
It all will be runway
There'll be no more colour in Birchanger green
Now Birchanger Green is a motorway stop
Where travellers go for relief and to shop
Named after the village, a community still
That the cold march of progress now threatens to kill
Chorus
This place and the air'planes go back a long way
The first carried Santa one far Christmas day
On a runway of grass, nineteen thirteen the year
Bringing presents for children and nothing to fear
Chorus
With the Second World War came the planes once again
With American bombers and American men
They built a big airbase and billets were found
But they cherished the village and pubs all around
Chorus
When the wars were all over, the damage was slight
But then there came peace and demand for more flight
So Government planned it as governments do
Caring little for impact on me and on you
Chorus
Now runways will cover whole hamlets and next
New housing development smothers the rest
Concrete proposals bury future and past
Unless we make planners see some sense at last
Chorus
