Ballade of an Unsuccessful Search

BALLADE OF AN UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH

I've been to Derby and Nottingham,
Notting Hill - London, The Gorbals - Glasgow,
Stratford on Avon and Cheltenham
but I find nothing wherever I go.
In Caithness - Wick, in Cornwall - Polperro,
along the moorland and along the shore,
but everywhere brings me a bitter blow
for I've not yet found what I'm looking for.

I've travelled to Henley and Beckenham
through wind and rain and sun and sleet and snow,
by train, by car, by ship, by bus, by tram -
all the way from Penzance to Thurso.
For all my travelling I've nothing to show.
In every town I knock on every door.
I've grown tired of hunting high and low
for I've not yet found what I'm looking for.

I have even been into Birmingham.
To anywhere in Wales the way I know -
an expert on travel is what I am -
Pembroke, Chester, Whitby, Morpeth, Kelso,
Oban, Sheffield, Lincoln, Oxford, Truro -
but I don't want to go on any more;
I'm weary and my heart is filled with woe
for I've not yet found what I'm looking for

ENVOI

Prince, won't you tell me just where I should go?
Prince tell me what the future holds in store.
I drive fast but the pace of life is slow
for I've not yet found what I'm looking for.

© Gerald England

Composed: Ackworth, 26th June 1966

Previously Unpublished