Beth Malcolm

To Orkney

[Lyrics: Beth Malcolm]

Around this time I took a trip to Orkney with my Dad 

We drove the long way to the ferry,all the way to Scrabster through the black isle 

We sings songs and tell stories of the places we pass by 

And we are dwarfed by the mountains that frame our view of Scotland through a cracked windscreen 

On our last morning on the island, we took a drive through the wild Orchadian landscape 

The rain was lashing against the car and it was almost funny how dreich the day was 

We talk freely in the way that you can when you are both facing away from each other 

The impacts of the years of right-wing governance 

Under-funded foodbanks 

The destruction of the earth’s wild places for profits sake 

The devastations of war and prejudice 

And how disconnected I feel from all these issues day to day 

Distracted into inaction by the dazzling lights of my mobile phone 

Dad sings the Worker’s Song 

A folk song about the plight of the working people 

Written by Ed Pickford from County Durham 

And I listen