Don't Say You're English

There is a poem making its way around the Internet recently lamenting the erosion of English identity. "English" is no longer accepted as a nationality by the British government. One must now be "British". The following verse was brought into the store and presented to me by a senior gentleman of English heritage this morning.

Goodbye to my England, so long my old friend
Your days are numbered, being brought to an end
To be Scottish, Irish or Welsh that's fine
But don't say you're English, that's way out of line.

The French and the Germans may call themselves such
As may Norwegians, the Swedes and the Dutch
You can say you are Russian or maybe a Dane
But don't say you're English ever again.

At Broadcasting House the word is taboo
In Brussels it's scrapped, in Parliament too
Even schools are affected, staff do as they're told
They must not teach children about England of old.

Writers like Shakespeare, Milton and Shaw
Do the pupils not learn about them anymore?
How about Agincourt, Hastings, Arnhem or Mons
When England lost hosts of her very brave sons?

We are not Europeans, how can we be?
Europe is miles away over the sea.
We're the English from England, let's all be proud
Stand up and be counted - shout it out loud.

Let's tell our government and Brussels too
We're proud of our heritage and the Red, White and Blue
Fly the flag of St George or the Union Jack
Let the world know - we want our England back!