North of the Humber & South of the Tweed
Land of St. Cuthbert, St. Hilda, St. Bede
There was a kingdom with war for a creed
And it went by the name of Northumbria
Deira, Bernicia, split by the Tees
Swore an allegiance and both bent their knees
Oswald was king in a land of unease
And it went by the name Northumbria
Chorus:
Northumbria, Northumbria
Sacred & savage Northumbria
Freeman & slave & a king & his thane
Wild Anglo-Saxon & flaxen domain
Grave to the brave who in battle were slain
And it went by the name of Northumbria
Bamburgh, York like two hawks on a gate
Guarded their kingdom as time danced with fate
Who was the hunter and who was the bait?
In the turbulent state of Northumbria
Warrior code was the mode of a life
Destiny rode with a sword and the knife
Blood freely flowed on an altar of strife
In the earth that gave birth to Northumbria
Chorus:
Destiny’s wings bring all kings to Hell’s Gate
Rings on the bell to tell demons of Fate
Mortal is Man even great heads of State
In the flame & the fire of Northumbria
Justice was brutal - existence was brief
God & the Gods were the core of belief
Conflict & combat - a cauldron of grief
Was the Old English kingdom Northumbria
Chorus:
Two thousand years has stood Hadrian’s Wall
Time-weathered stone left alone to recall
All things must pass and all kingdoms must fall
But remembered in name is Northumbria
Lindisfarne Isle is a sanctified shrine
Celtic & Christian reaching through time
Back to St.Aidan, the kings & their line
And it’s song is the song of Northumbria
Chorus:
