How many reading these lines were alive

In the Year of Our Lord nineteen seventy five

When the country was far from happy unity

About membership of the European Community.

 

On May the fifth, West Ham won the Cup

And Manchester United climbed back up,

To be a Premier club once more

(Their accountants were surely keeping score!).

 

The Vietnam War ground to a close

And released from military duty those

Who from conscription chose to wander,

Encouraged by Hollywood's "Hanoi" Jane Fonda.

 

Now forty years and more have past

And there's an EU Referendum at last,

To stay or go is now the question

So here for thought is one suggestion:

 

Look up what was written in seventy five

By those in the know about where we'd arrive;

The Foreign Office declared  that Community Law

takes precedence over our own" - for sure.

 

"Sovereignty" was through clenched teeth gritted

And in the end interpreted so it fitted,

As round the truth the politicians danced

That with membership it was even "enhanced"!

 

Deceit...denial...dissemble...delay,

Have been how the EU got its way;

Far removed from our hopes of trade,

Its political scheming underplayed.

 

Taking no account of precious borders

It puts its members under orders

And if any country wants its way,

The threats and scares come into play.

 

Four decades forward, we can choose

The path that we'd prefer to use.

At least we're free to have our say -

And see through the smoke to find our way.

 

Were you alive in seventy five

When truth and trust both took a dive?

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