Happisburgh - music by Matt Dungey and words by Cameron Self

soundcloud.com/wramplingham/happisburgh

 

I was looking through some of my old Happisburgh photographs and found this little gem (not the photo but the track). Matt and I only managed one song - which is a great shame because I thought he interpreted the words brilliantly. (Echoes of Peter Hammill - though I don't think he knew of PH.)

 

 

Happisburgh

 

The man from the government came round

To say my house is only worth a pound

Perched here on this most fragile ground

Where the sea bites into the cliff

And all buildings shift

Precariously

 

And at night, I hear the waves crashing

Against the revetments

And fear the strength of the water

I can no longer sleep

Fearful of the time when the slide will come

And carry my belongings into the deep

My hair has gone grey

And my nerves are fraught

In my head now I hear the sea

Like in a shell constantly

Roaring and beating and waiting

To take the house I bought

My garden has already gone

Along with my favourite shed

I awoke, one morning, to find my lawnmower

Mangled on the beach

And all my tools smashed and tangled

My screws and nails spread

 

Soon to be pounded on the beach

Its bricks worn smooth - its timbers cracked

Its tiles dispersed by the breakers

To disappear forever out of reach

Piece by piece

Like Eccles Church

Who will fight to save my home now?

Nobody!

Because the man from the government came round

To say it’s only worth a pound

Done