Rain off the Pennines
Soaks me through
As I look for you
In the tower blocks
And the few old terraces left
In this dirty old town.

I am reminded of women
In pinnies, with hair up, 
As they scrub at their step
Before leaving to clean
The houses of the rich
Up on Eccles old road.

Her dazzling smile
Spreads over mile after mile
And deepens year after year
She is a part of my memory
Of this place as much as
Miners and dockers
The Salford Lads' Club
Joy Division and the Hacienda. .

Generations of Irish have walked these streets
Built the factories and canals.
Look at all the Catholic churches.
Harold Riley painted the view
From his sick bed in Salford Royal
Walter Greenwood's word painting
Of Love on the Dole and still the toll rises.

We pay our dues
But we were never rich
We remember Peterloo,
The poll tax riots; the miners' strike;
We will never give in, never surrender.