One of our new songs pays tribute to Brighton. Jan and I have a link with Brighton. Jan’s wife Paula was born there and they pass the Channel every year visiting relatives for a couple of days. I go to Brighton to see my daughter Djuna, who lives there: she works at the University of Sussex on her PhD in theoretical physics. There is a third reason why The Dutch links to Brighton, but I will leave that for the next blog.
It is especially the tolerant atmosphere of Brighton that attracts me. The city is a melting pot of cultures, with vegan shops fraternally located next to fish and chip joints. Although the center is crowded with all sorts of hipsters and creatives, during weekends you still stumble over groups of half-drunken Londoners who come to celebrate their hilarious bachelor parties. I think Brighton is unlike any other town. For instance, in the last parliamentary election the Tories won almost everywhere, but in Brighton the Green Party remained the largest. On Twitter jokes like “You are now entering Brighton and Hove. Please have your passports ready” were shared.
In the song text of Brighton and Hove, I go there and walk through the city: from the fantastic GAK (Guitars, Amps and Keyboards) store to the West Pier, burned down but more photogenic with every piece of steel that falls from the palisade, to Marrocco’s which is, without exaggeration, the best Italian restaurant outside Italy (no kidding!), and back to the North Laine, in the center.
Brighton and Hove
Goodbye now, we’re leaving
We must be on our way again
We’ll wander ‘round North Laine
I’ll buy you a pale ale there and then
Musicians are trying
New stuff at GAK each day
They sing in the gardens
And aim for the Brighton Dome to play
Anything goes
In Brighton and Hove
Nothing feels more alive
Brighton and Hove
That’s where I’ll go
I’m gonna jump in and take a dive
We’ll swim to the West Pier
And watch the steel come falling down
A taste at Marrocco’s
Then off to Gardner Street downtown
Anything goes
In Brighton and Hove
Nothing feels more alive
Brighton and Hove
That’s where I’ll go
I’m gonna jump in and take a dive
© Hans Croon
October 6, 2015