Bracchi

As the century began A few miles south of Milan Was where and when my great Grandad was raised As unemployment hit hard All around his back yard He drew the card of the emigre The British empire was a draw For all the region's poor So to Britannia's shore he set sail Set off with a goal in mind He walked a day or nine To the mining valleys of south Wales Call me Bracchi Welsh can't remember Cottica or Campanini Call me Bracchi in Italiano mi chiamo Michelini Call me Bracchi in Galese Bracchi There was the Franci and Sabrini Rabbiotti Campanini Balestrasi Michelini and the Sacchi And as we raised our homes Amongst the Davies and the Jones We got known after the first here the Bracchi 40,000 men Worked underground back then But we did not intend becoming miners Though we worked the Rhondda seams We kept our fingers clean Served coffee and ice-cream in Bracchi diners Call me Bracchi Welsh can't remember Cottica or Campanini Call me Bracchi in Italiano mi chiamo Michelini Call me Bracchi in Galese Bracchi But the bubble didn't last Soon the mining boom had past The economy sank fast to it's knees Though the coal reserves weren't spent The will to mine them went As they sent cut-price coal from overseas So as the mining stops The population drops So like the pits the Bracchi shops are closing down Looks like our time in Wales is done Like Grandfather like Grandson It's to London this emigrée is bound Call me Bracchi Welsh can't remember Cottica or Campanini Call me Bracchi in Italiano mi chiamo Michelini Call me Bracchi in Galese Bracchi