Kate Bush – Oh England My Lionheart

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Oh! England, my Lionheart
I'm in your garden, fading fast in your arms
The soldiers soften, the war is over
The air raid shelters are blooming clover
Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes
My London Bridge in rain again

Oh! England, my Lionheart!
Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park
You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames
That old river poet that never, ever ends
Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in
And keep the tower from tumbling

Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go

Oh! England, my Lionheart!
Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge
Give me one kiss in apple-blossom
Give me one wish, and I'd be wassailing
In the orchard, my English rose
Or with my shepherd, who'll bring me home

Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go

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Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Track duration: 03:12

"Oh England My Lionheart" as written by Kate / Bush

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

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Oh England My Lionheart song meanings
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11 Comments

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  • 0
    My Opinion:Kate, in her own inimitable way, conjurs up very vivid images of England and Englishness in this song. Beautifully crafted and sheer poetry. The melody in this song is quite stunning.
    One of my favourite Kate Bush songs and I'm Scottish!!
    Flag Crooksteron November 03, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think this song is about wanting to return to an England that existed before the world wars (like Edwardian England)
    when i heard the song i immeadiatley connected it to an essay that E.M. Forster wrote as an afterward to his novel 'Maurice'
    Flag TrampVampon April 07, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes, my London Bridge in rain again". This is the England I love, the England of "Brief Encounter", the England of Home. When Lionheart was released I was just a English kid living in the Netherlands, desperately wishing to be back home. This song captures that feeling and the pride of being English, without all the nationalistic crap that goes with national pride now.
    Flag skimbynimbobbingtonon July 08, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes, my London Bridge in rain again". This is the England I love, the England of "Brief Encounter", the England of Home. When Lionheart was released I was just a English kid living in the Netherlands, desperately wishing to be back home. This song captures that feeling and the pride of being English, without all the nationalistic crap that goes with national pride now.
    Flag skimbynimbobbingtonon July 08, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I feel that it is about a yearning for an England that no longer exists, an arcadian paradise;the so called albion, a longing for the beauty of the past, or how we remeber things were when we were children and how we become more aware of flaws and therefore become more cynical towards such images. The beauty of Kate's work lies in the childlike innocence that she still possesses which allows her to create such beautiful, poetic, dreamlike imagery. It is a passionate and inspiring song which makes me proud of the wonderful heritage of my england.
    Flagged jackflashjesson December 25, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Kate is such a cryptic poet! ...
    'The soldiers soften, the war is over' - detumescent sexual poetry?
    'my funeral barge' - the 'De Efteling' video Ophelia?
    Flag Theresa_Gionoffrioon December 06, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song perfectly evokes pre-war heroism… the stoicism… the patriotic fondness for one’s homeland… the gorgeous musical arrangements…

    It reminds me of Rupert Brooke’s The Soldier… and suggests an heroic tale Achilles might have sung!
    I know it’s terribly English… But the Greeks were terribly Greek… :o)

    (nb. Kate was born in Kent, and Kent is known as The Garden of England.)
    Flag Theresa_Gionoffrioon April 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I adore this song...I'm not even English but I think in a way anyone can relate to the imagery in the song, the pilot fondly remembering the wonderful things about his homeland contrasted with his fall from his Spitfire. It could be about any person struck by terror and danger wishing desperately for safety and the way things used to be.

    That said, it does of course have a level quite personal to the artist, referring so specifically to England.
    Flag nienna19on August 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I believe the song makes it quite clear thats it's from the perspective of a fighter pilot, going down in flames.
    'Dropped from my Black Spitfire to my funeral barge'
    Because Kate was so fiercely English, this song really is a personal ode to England. The pilot talks about the wonders and things he loves about the country as he plummets toward the ground.
    Flag mozza_fanon April 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is song is so beautiful...the repeated line that closes the album is sung so wonderful, mournfully... it almost glows. It's very stirring and patriotic in a quiet, poeting way (the type I like).
    Flag solar_poweredon February 21, 2006   Link

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