From Hendon to Houghton
Springwell to Fullwell
From Ryhope to Roker
It’s surely no joke-ah
Sunderland is wonderland
With or without Alice
With gardens in glass
A tropical palace
From Carly to Marley
O’er hills and Pots
Moorside and Nookside
An abundance of plots
Mackem laugh
Mackem smile
Mack it your business
Mile after mile
This city is booming
This city’s got drive
This city is blooming
This city will thrive
From Sheepfold to Southwick
Tunstall to Barnes
Here is a place that
Turns on the charms
I won’t forget Seaburn
With its beaches and dunes
Cos Sunderland’s the centre
Of Glorious tunes
Frankie’s pulling Heartstrings
Down at Pop Recs
Field Music, Futureheads
Music’s complex
Some famous folks
Let’s reel ’em off
Dave Stewart, Kenickie
Toy Dolls, A Tribe of Toffs
Alan Price, Leatherface
Emeli Sande, Bryan Ferry
Hyde and Beast, SLUG and Olive
All great music, making merry
You know you’re in Sunderland
With places called Hill
Thorn and Down
Hasting and Mill
Let’s not forget SAF(C)
Down at the SOL
Those sporting Black Cats
Are going for goal
Plus Potts, Parnaby
Pearson and Carter
Sporting greats fearsome
And that’s just a starter
Pallion, Pennywell, Penshaw
South Hylton, Sunniside, Warden Law
Gilley Law, Grangetown, Grindon, Grove
Lots of great places where you can rove
Sunderland can fill up
Your literary barrel
Think of escaping
Then try Lewis Carroll
He decided to come here
Loved to return
Visiting Southwick
Town and Whitburn
Writing classic stories
On the Sunderland coast
Jabberwocky, Walrus
This city’s famous boast
Statue’s in Mowbray
Of that snaggle-toothed beast
They’re celebrating St. Michael
Down at Houghton feast
From Deptford to Doxford
From Farringdon to Ford
From Springwell to Shiney
They’re out of the ord
From Quigley to Deary
There’s writers galore
Don’t forget Bill Travers
Watch Born Free lions roar
A place of creativity and artists
So much more than you think
With painters, photographers and poets
Down at King Ink
Hall Farm and Hill View
Town End and Vaux
These are all places
For Mackems to know
Hollycarside, Leechmere
Monkwearmouth, Millfield
Christchurch and Thorney Close
Are places that yield
Ayre’s Quay, Marina
I’m sure that you’ve seen a
Places in Sun’lan’
Like the City Centre, East End
Wherever you go
Be it Ashbrooke or Plains Farm
You will find folks
Who are willing to friend
Herringtons, Witherwack
What’s the crack?
Fatfield and Redhouse
Take it back
Hylton Castle, Castletown
Hyltons North and South
Think I’ve nearly finished
Time to rest my mouth
But wait there’s old and new Washington
And also Easington Lane
Did I also mention Hetton?
As part of this Sunderland game
Listing villages in this new town
Shouldn’t take too long
So let’s not miss out anyone
This region’s so strong
Donwell, Usworth
Concord, Sulgrave
Washington Village
Home of the brave
Barmston, Barnwell, Biddick
Albany, Columbia, Glebe
Ayton, Oxclose, Blackfell, Lambton
Villages grown from a tiny seed
Harraton, Rickleton, Teal Farm
Mount Pleasant, nearly your lot
Oh wait there’s those industrial greats
Whose names I nearly forgot
Armstrong, Crowther, Stephenson
Emerson, Pattinson, Swan
With all these places and familiar faces
It’s clear Sunderland is still number one
Car making, call centre wrangling
A coal mining, ship building past
Times they are a-changing
Shows Sunderland can last
So I’ll continue to big you up Sunderland
With people and places galore
If I’ve missed you out, just give me a shout
And we’ll be ready to add in some more
Aaron Wright
