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đ” BRYER DAYS
Inspired by the Memoirs of Vyvyen Brendon
“Bryer Days” takes its name from Vyvyen’s childhood home on Brownshill Lane, which her parents named after the island of Bryer in Scilly. At that time, having a telephone in the house was unusual in the village, and it was there because of her father’s job. The house, now called Merton House, still looked much the same apart from some changes to the veranda when she wrote the memoirs. Rod was Vyvyen's brother.
đ¶ Verse 1
We lived in Bryer by the winding lane
Where nettles bowed and the air smelled plain
The chickens clucked near the garden bed
And the sky looked down on the roof of red
đ¶ Verse 2
Mum would boil and bottle and stir
Apron tied tight just like her
The wireless hummed in the corner low
And bedtime came with a firelit glow
đ¶ Chorus
Bryer days with biscuit tin dreams
Steam on the windows and stitched-up seams
Kettle on slow and the world held still
At the top of Brownshill
đ¶ Verse 3
Books were soft with thick old pages
Passed through careful hands and ages
Rod would draw and I would read
And we never felt the want or need
đ¶ Chorus
Bryer days with biscuit tin dreams
Steam on the windows and stitched-up seams
Kettle on slow and the world held still
At the top of Brownshill
đ¶ Bridge
The path to the gate held puddles and chalk
And the Sunday quiet where no one would talk
The stove clicked and mum would smile
Those quiet hours lasted a mile
đ¶ Final Chorus
Bryer days with biscuit tin dreams
Where nothing was perfect but everything seemed
Held in that house with a valley-wide view
And a childhood that somehow still feels true