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Big River (Sunderland Version)

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Pete the Pirate said:
Big River by Jimmy Nail (yes a massive mag I know) is one of my favourite songs, because beside Shipyards, there's probably few other songs which have captured the spirit and heritage of the North East as much as that. It's a song that speaks to who we are.

However, even if it applies to all of us it's a song about Newcastle, and in turn the mags have infused it into NUFC, something I find inevitable but also offensive because the heritage of our region isn't owned solely by one club.

As a result, I thought I'd alter the lyrics (only by simply changing the nouns) and propose a Sunderland version.

Walking on cobbled stone
Little bits of skin and bone
Jumping on a tram car for a ride
I can remember then
As I was just a boy of ten
Hanging around the old Wearside

Now all the capstans and the cargo boats
And stevadores are gone
To where all the old ships go
But memories just like the seas live on
'Cause that was when coal was king
The river was a living thing
And I was just a boy
But it was here
The coaly wear

For this was a big river
I want you all to know
That I was proud
This was a big river
But that was long ago
That's not now
That's not now

My father was a working man
He earned our living with his hands
He had to cross the river every day
He picked up a union card
Out of the Pallion yard
Mouths to feed and bills to pay

There came a time for him to sail
Across the seas and far away
Finally when that war was won
You brought him home
And home he stayed
And when his days were done
Under a golden sun
You took him back to where he longed to be
Back to the sea

For this was a big river
I want you all to know
That I was proud
This was a big river
But that was long ago
That's not now
That's not now
That's not now

The Pallion was the last to go
I heard it on my radio
And then they played the latest number one
But what do they do all day?
And what are they supposed to say?
What does a father tell his son?

If you believe that there's a bond
Between our future
And our past
Try to hold on to what we had
We build them strong
We built to last
'Cause this is a mighty town
Built upon a solid ground
And everything they've tried so hard to kill
We will rebuild

For this was a big river
I want you all to know
I'm so very proud
This was a big river
But that was long ago
That's not now
And this is a big, big, river
And in my heart I know it will rise again
The river will rise again
Click to expand...
Reported to the police for this
 
This could have been written about me

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Of all the stupid things
I could have thought
This was the worst
I started to believe
That I was born at seventeen
And all the stupid things
The letters and the broken verse
Stayed hidden at the bottom of the drawer
They'd always been
And now, I plough through piles
Of bills, receipts, and credit cards
And tickets, and the daily news
And sometimes I just
Wanna go back to my hometown
Though I know it'll never be the same
Back to my hometown
'Cause it's been so long
And I'm wondering if it's still there
We think we're pretty smart
Us city slickers get around
And when the going's rough
We kill the pain and relocate
We're never married
Never faithful not to any town
But we never leave the past behind
We just accumulate
So, sometimes when the music stops
I seem to hear a distant sound
Of waves and seagulls
Football crowds, and church bells
And I
Wanna go back to my hometown
Though I know it'll never be the same
Back to my hometown
'Cause it's been so long
And I'm wondering if it's still there
Back to my hometown
Though I know it'll never be the same
Back to my hometown
'Cause it's been so long
And I'm wondering if it's still there
 
Last edited:
Can’t look past Sunderland boys by Lindisfarne instead of trying to reinvent a Jimmy “professional Geordie” nail song.
 
Pete the Pirate said:
Big River by Jimmy Nail (yes a massive mag I know) is one of my favourite songs, because beside Shipyards, there's probably few other songs which have captured the spirit and heritage of the North East as much as that. It's a song that speaks to who we are.

However, even if it applies to all of us it's a song about Newcastle, and in turn the mags have infused it into NUFC, something I find inevitable but also offensive because the heritage of our region isn't owned solely by one club.

As a result, I thought I'd alter the lyrics (only by simply changing the nouns) and propose a Sunderland version.

Walking on cobbled stone
Little bits of skin and bone
Jumping on a tram car for a ride
I can remember then
As I was just a boy of ten
Hanging around the old Wearside

Now all the capstans and the cargo boats
And stevadores are gone
To where all the old ships go
But memories just like the seas live on
'Cause that was when coal was king
The river was a living thing
And I was just a boy
But it was here
The coaly wear

For this was a big river
I want you all to know
That I was proud
This was a big river
But that was long ago
That's not now
That's not now

My father was a working man
He earned our living with his hands
He had to cross the river every day
He picked up a union card
Out of the Pallion yard
Mouths to feed and bills to pay

There came a time for him to sail
Across the seas and far away
Finally when that war was won
You brought him home
And home he stayed
And when his days were done
Under a golden sun
You took him back to where he longed to be
Back to the sea

For this was a big river
I want you all to know
That I was proud
This was a big river
But that was long ago
That's not now
That's not now
That's not now

The Pallion was the last to go
I heard it on my radio
And then they played the latest number one
But what do they do all day?
And what are they supposed to say?
What does a father tell his son?

If you believe that there's a bond
Between our future
And our past
Try to hold on to what we had
We build them strong
We built to last
'Cause this is a mighty town
Built upon a solid ground
And everything they've tried so hard to kill
We will rebuild

For this was a big river
I want you all to know
I'm so very proud
This was a big river
But that was long ago
That's not now
And this is a big, big, river
And in my heart I know it will rise again
The river will rise again
Click to expand...
Tbf the best ships were built on the Tyne
 
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