The Legend of Wainwright

(sung to the tune of ‘Moulin Rouge’)

 

He knew every one of the mountains of Lakeland;

He drew every one in his own special way.

He wrote of a Way through the length of the Pennines,

And of his own journey to Robin Hood’s Bay.

How the sun shines on Orrest Head,

And gliders fly on Carlton Moor;

How the larks sing on Harter Fell,

And sheep file past on Trusmadoor!

He captured the charm of Victorian Kendal

With pen and ink drawings from old photographs.

He knew the best way to the top of Great Gable,

And told how they whitewashed the Bishop of Barf.

How the sun shines on Orrest Head,

And gliders fly on Carlton Moor;

How the larks sing on Harter Fell,

And sheep file past on Trusmadoor!

So lets drink a toast to the memory of Wainwright,

The man of the lakes and the fells and the dales,

Who described in his neat and distinctive handwriting

The mountains of England and Scotland and Wales.

 

(This was inspired by ‘The Legend of Joe Brown’ from The Hard Years, which was written to the tune of ‘North to Alaska’.)