Songtext Saffiyah smiles Billy Bragg

Saffiyah smiles

My neighbours don't drink at the local
Or have kippers for breakfast like me
The food that they eat smells disgusting
They'd rather drink coffee than tea

It's true that their kids are respectful
They gave me their seat on the bus
But it's just that there's so many of them
That I fear what will become of us

I'm not racist, all I want is
To make things how they used to be
But change is strange and
Nobody's listening to me

I cheered when our side won the Cold War
Spread freedom and peace all around
Now there's folks speaking Russian in Tesco's
It's a shame the wall had to come down

I know some are fleeing from war zones
To keep their young children from harm
But my parents stayed put through the Blitz yearsAnd me? I was sent to a farm

Yeah the sun shines, but sometimes
I don't feel like this is my country
But to say so? Oh no
I never get no sympathy

Once we ruled over an empire
So it feels like some kind of defeat
To comply with rules drawn up by strangers
And measure in metres not feet

We don't want to go but by Jingo
If we can't be in charge, then we must
But don't be offended, dear neighbour
It's not you: this is all about us

But it's alright, alright
I think I've found a remedy
Yes it's alright, gonna be alright
It's a full English Brexit for me