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Brasshouse Lane

from NOTHING TO DECLARE by Stompin' on Spiders

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about

This is a bruising example of what we're calling "industrial blues".

It is a gritty and grimy tale from the late 1960's and early 1970's, when Noor was growing up near to the giant Birmid foundry in Smethwick -part of the "Black Country" of Central England.

The foundry was a huge monolith that dominated the landscape until it closed in the early 1980's, ravaged by unions, strikes and Thatcher's “New Britain”. After the demise of the mighty Birmid foundry, Smethwick would never be the same again.

This is the story of the Birmid as seen through the eyes of a young boy growing up under its shadow.

lyrics

Brasshouse Lane

Down Brasshouse, Brasshouse Lane,
Turn the clock back to the 60’s once again.
It was a working man’s town,
Where the Birmid loomed tall
Before they shut it down.
Ten thousand men worked inside the foundries,
Making castings for the motor industry.
By God it wasn’t pretty,
but it stood for England’s heart;
Engineering excellence resides,
Down Brasshouse Lane.

Near Brasshouse, Brasshouse Lane,
Lived a boy that had dreams of rock and roll.
But the folks down in Oxford Road
Were grimy, honest, hard working souls.
Mr Bridges worked at the Birmid;
he’d been an apprentice there,
Expected his sons to follow his path.
But along came the great Winter of Discontent
And we certainly felt that winter’s aftermath,
Down Brasshouse Lane.

But I couldn’t see the sky for its towering structures,
The blackened clouds and the soot raining down.
I prayed that one day, I’d see open fields,
And this monstrosity would be laid to rest.

But I was too young, to know how many lives,
Were wrapped within its molten metal heart.

Down Brasshouse, Brasshouse Lane,
The Birmid was closed on that fateful day.
And a wasteland just remained,
When “the man” came and took it all away.
A wasteland on the Earth
and a wasteland in the lives,
Of men like Mr Bridges who worked there.
They couldn’t find a job in Thatcher’s tyrant reign,
So they had to start their lives over again,
Away from Brasshouse Lane.

And then the Birmid site, became playing fields
And I could kick a football with my friends.
But I looked up at the sky,
And missed the mighty presence
Of Birmid standing tall over our town.

Like a cast metal angel over Brasshouse Lane.


© New Tradition Music.

credits

from NOTHING TO DECLARE, track released February 29, 2012
Noor Ali: Vocals, electric guitars, bass guitar, percussion
Gazza Tee: Acoustic guitar


Written by N Ali & G Tolley
© New Tradition Music.

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Stompin' on Spiders England, UK

Stompin' on Spiders is a musical collective formed at a Blues festival in April 2009. The band's stripped-back acoustic Blues/Rock style is individual as it is unique, blending the traditional ethos of Blues music with a very modern edge. A "new tradition" is how one music journalist described Stompin' on Spiders; "a radical mix of stripped-back blues and roots inspired by international events". ... more

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