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Landslides of England

by Hiroshima Twinkie

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Landslides of England: Song Notes

Landslide Victory

A landslide victory is an electoral victory in a political system, when one candidate or party receives an overwhelming majority of the votes or seats in the elected body, thus all but utterly eliminating the opponents. The winning party has reached more voters than usual, and a landslide victory is often seen in hindsight as a turning point in people's views on political matters.

Firstly, the term ‘landslide’ can be read several ways, as a terrible disaster, a sudden slip or movement or as a powerful political victory…the which I find enigmatic.

The lyrics also make reference to Alfred Austin’s (1835-1913) poem ‘A Dream of England’, whilst the shores of misery line was inspired by The Acheron or ‘River (Lake) of Woe, in Greek Mythology.

What do they know of England, England bleeds, was ‘adapted’ from the English Flag poem by Kipling, which Billy Bragg also tinkered with when considering the notion of ‘Englishness’ and blind headed empire allegiances in the song ’The Few’ and in some of the songs on the immigration celebrating 'England Half-English' album, whilst there is also a historic link to the sly use of this line by Enoch Powell and Churchill when trying to satisfy working people with their lot in life with the use of blind patriotism A far more obscure reference is linked to the whole ‘dream’ and ‘gift’ notion which was inspired by ‘England’s first poet’, the illiterate cowherd Caedmon who was given the gift of an appreciation of all created things in a dream whilst working for the monks at Whitby Abbey sometime between 657-680 AD….although the notion of a ‘gift’ might have sneaked in from the Velvet Underground or indeed The Jam…which reminds me that there is also an attitudinal ‘overthrow the establishment’ link to ‘there’s no future and England’s dreaming’, from God Save the Queen by The Pistols. I’d like to think the Caedmon link roots the song in the hopes of working people as opposed to the privileged and gentry. The fading ghost called England is culled from the title of Kwasi Kwarteng’s book on the legacy of empire, ‘Ghosts of Empire’.

The lyrics also hint at the right-wing attitudes shockingly displayed in the film ‘This is England’ and the anti-royalist sentiment and the potential dystopian future seen in Derek Jarman’s ‘Jubilee’ – the original word where ‘pageantry’ is was going to be Jubilee, but it didn’t scan well…I probably stole ‘pageantry’ from the R.E.M’s wonderful ‘Life’s Rich Pageant’ album title as it doesn’t otherwise often feature in my vocabulary. All can share and all can care suggests to true wonderfulness of the majority of the English, their general attitude of tolerance and acceptance of ‘others’, whilst in some way hinting at the NHS, the benefit system and democracy.

The ‘believe’ lines have nothing however to do with Cher or Frankie Lain

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released October 16, 2019
Hiroshima Twinkie

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Hiroshima Twinkie Lancaster, UK

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