LONDON CALLS
(Richard Eckersley / Wreford)
Billy Cotton & His Band
V. Billy Cotton




London calls, great St. Paul’s,
Booming out the fleeting hours
Carried to the people on London Bridge,
Muffled by the wintry showers,


Half past ten, cold Big Ben,
Time to go to bed and hear
The melancholy hooting of tugs at night
Passing some deserted pier


I miss Westminster, I miss Kew
I love to see it in the spring
I miss my Sunday visits to the zoo
I miss everything


London calls, its music halls,
The theatres with the latest plays,
In spring or in the autumn, in sunshine, rain,
London calls, I must obey.


The barrow boys, the lights, the noise
In Hoxton on a busy night
The happy little sparrows upon the streets
Of London when the sun shines bright


The Mile End Road, where traffic flowed
For many a hundred year
The cosy little pubs with quaint old names
Open for a glass of beer


Brixton in the sunshine on a summer day
Limehouse ‘neath a leaden pall
Whitechapel at work, Whitechapel at play,
I love ‘em all.


The busy queues, they air their views
Waiting for the bus to stop
The silent squares deserted at dead of night
Save for an occasional cop.


London gives, London gives
Happiness to all her friends
London for so many is still the place
Will the journey end?










(Contributed by Bill Huntley - September 2006)