By Tony Walsh aka Longfella
This is the place
In the north-west of England. It’s ace, it’s the best
And the songs that we sing from the stands, from our bands
Set the whole planet shaking.
Our inventions are legends.
There’s nowt we can’t make, and so we make brilliant music
We make brilliant bands
We make goals that make souls leap from seats in the stands.
And we make things from steel
And we make things from cotton
And we make people laugh, take the mick summat rotten
And we make you at home
And we make you feel welcome
And we make summat happen
And we can’t seem to help it
And if you’re looking for history, then yes we’ve a wealth.
But the Manchester way, is to make it yourself.
And make us a record, a new number one
And make us a brew while you’re up, love, go on
And make us feel proud that you’re winning the league
And make us sing louder and make us believe
That this is the place that has helped shape the world
And this is the place where a Manchester girl
Named Emmeline Pankhurst from the streets of Moss Side
Led a suffragette city with sisterhood pride.
And this is the place with appliance of science,
We’re on it, atomic, we struck with defiance,
And in the face of a challenge, we always stand tall,
Mancunians, in union, delivered it all.
Such as housing and libraries and health, education
And unions and co-ops, the first railway station.
So we’re sorry, bear with us, we invented commuters.
But we hope you forgive us, we invented computers.
And this is the place Henry Royce strolled with Rolls,
And we’ve rocked and we’ve rolled with our own northern soul
And so this is the place to do business then dance,
Where go-getters and goal-setters know they’ve a chance
And this is the place where we first played as kids.
And me Mam, lived and died here, she loved it, she did.
And this is the place where our folks came to work,
Where they struggled in puddles, they hurt in the dirt
And they built us a city, they built us these towns
And they coughed on the cobbles to the deafening sound
Of the steaming machines, and the screaming of slaves,
They were scheming for greatness,
They dreamed to their graves.
And they left us a spirit. They left us a vibe.
That Mancunian way to survive and to thrive,
And to work and to build, and to connect and create,
And Greater Manchester’s greatness is keeping it great.
And so this is the place now with kids of our own.
Some are born here, some drawn here, but we all call it home.
And they’ve covered the cobbles, but they’ll never defeat,
All the dreamers and schemers who still teem through these streets.
Because this is a place that has been through some hard times:
Oppressions, recessions, depressions, and dark times.
But we keep fighting back with Greater Manchester spirit,
Northern grit, Northern wit, and Greater Manchester lyrics.
And there’s hard times again, in these streets of our city,
But we won’t take defeat and we don’t want your pity.
Because this is the place where we stand strong together,
With a smile on our face, Mancunians forever.
Because this is the place in our hearts, in our homes,
Because this is the place that’s a part of our bones.
Because Manchester gives us such strength from the fact
That this is the place, we should give something back.
Always remember, never forget, forever Manchester.
Choose ❤️ Manchester.
