The United Kingdom of Song #8: Rotherham

Just a few miles south of the town I work in is sunny Rotherham. I skived off work one afternoon in the summer a few years back and went to have a look round their charity shops. (CC would be proud.) I recognise the buildings in the picture above, although to be fair it's not representative of the rest of the town.

Rotherham is the birthplace of Pulp drummer Nick Banks; Jo Callis, guitarist from The Rezillos, and later The Human League; Chris Wolstenholme, the bassist from Muse... and The Chuckle Brothers.

I could only find two tunes that mention Rotherham, but both a worth a spin. First there's this...

In Yorkshire near Rotherham, he had been on the ramble

Weary of traveling, he sat down to rest

By the foot of yon' mountain

Lays a clear flowing fountain

With bread and cold water he himself did refresh

And then, perhaps more obviously, there's this classic Rotherham rhyme...

And yeah, I'd love to tell you all my problem

You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham

So get off the bandwagon, and put down the handbook

(Shout out to all residents of Hunter's Bar in Sheffield who also get a nod in this song.)



186 miles down to the West Country next week for a truly spiritual experience...