What England Means to Me

Ordinary English people have welcomed newcomers to their land for centuries - people looking for a better life who believed they would find it in England, and who, largely, have not been disappointed. In the early days, like every other Western country, immigration to England involved a two-way deal. On the one hand, newcomers accepted that they had to fit into English society, but on the other, recognised that this society has been pluralist for many years and would embrace their ethnic cultures and customs. St George’s Family Tree has evolved over many decades, and continues to evolve. The ethos is that whatever their colour, ethnicity, or religious persuasion, people who have an enduring relationship with England (by birth or by adoption) are entitled to consider themselves English. Sadly, over the last 40 years, immigrants have been conned into taking on simply a ‘British’ identity, dumped into England, and have been allowed to collect in ghettos rather than integrate into English life. The role and status of the (evolving) English as the indigenous people of England have been ignored or played down, and the English have been completely ignored in the immigration and integration process. It is no wonder that there are so many disaffected, ‘British’ youngsters living in England. They have never been offered caring integration help, and have never been connected with the host country (England) or its people (the English). The tragedy is they have never been truly welcomed as members of St George’s Family Tree, and therefore exist outside English society and its communities. The main reason is that British Governments over this time have denied the English people their indigenous right to manage the integration of newcomers into THEIR land. They have merely labeled immigrants ‘British’ and dumped them on England for political gain. That’s what this song, and ‘England For The English’ are about. A friend of mine recorded them both and I thank him sincerely.

Jack Cropper, Englishman, 2009

St George’s Family Tree

1. There’s something fishy here in this Disunited Kingdom,
And those of skeptical persuasion may well scoff,
Now call me cynical or even skittish, the only folk round here still think they’re British,
Live in England, ‘cos the Celts well they’ve all buggered off.

2. And our Englishness my friends is slowly being murdered,
But there are some, of course, who’ll say these are the ramblings of a twit,
But why do half of all the people who make our England their home,
Not consider that they’re English, they prefer to say ‘We’re Brits’

3. And it’s this government that’s pushing all this British nonsense,
Consider this my friends because the premise really isn’t weird
They see a time when everyone in England will just be British, nothing more
And the English as a nation will simply be ‘Disappeared’.

4. Now we all know it says we’re British on our passports,
But take a lesson from the Scots, on what to do,
Cos they don’t admit to being British, until they’re legally obliged,
So always remember that you’re English through and through.

5. So for goodness sake, Let’s put the Englishness back into England
It’s mono-culture that’s what made every country great
It’s far better to add more ingredients to our multi-flavoured pie,
Than have a hundred different flavoured pies stacked up on our plate

6. But there are racists who deny we English are a nation,
Our very history and our customs they’ve besmeared,
There’s a chap called Straw says we’re aggressive and as a nation we’ve been jolly oppressive,
And as a race the English are still a people to be feared.

7. Ah but then empires were never built by us ordinary people
And Jack the lad he re-writes history to suit his need,
It was the Ruling Class like Straw, who sent the country off to war,
To line their pockets, oh aye, and satisfy their greed

You can listen to St George’s Family Tree on YouTube.