Sep 5: 'The Rain is on the Mountainside'

This song by Jake Thackray is described by Stuart Maconie as "maybe the best song about the northern landscape ever written, and one that expresses the link between us and the "hard beautiful indifference" of the countryside we grew up in."

My mum loves Jake's music and saw him play live several times, going back many years... there are plenty of songs that benefit from his lugubrious (I like that word) singing voice.... 'Bantam Cock' is another...

The rain is on the mountainside,
The beast is in the silent meadow,
The north countryside is patiently waiting again.
Blackbird is dumb in the juniper,
Lapwing shivers in the dripping thicket,
Down in the stone-faced town, one door opens.

In a similar vein, check out the often-humorous songs of Bernard Wrigley, who has done a bit of acting too.... Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Phoenix Nights, Dinnerladies, Alan Bennett films, Brassed Off etc.

He has a Bandcamp page where you can check out all of his music.

And this one's a bit 'saucy'...... and slightly non-PC... 

Here's the introduction

And the song... the final line when he gets to Scunthorpe is the 'twist'...