Now, if I remember rightly, it goes something like this:
The poem by William Blake is called "Jerusalem" ("And did those feet, in Ancient times, walk upon England's mountain green, and was the holy lamb on God, in England's pleasant pastures seen", etc. etc.) Music was then added in the 19th century to make it a hymn, and it's called "And Did Those Feet". Have I got that right?
The words are about the persisent rumour that Christ "holidayed" somewhere in England during the long "gap" in his Biblical biography - i.e., somewhere between the age of 12, when there was that unfortunate business with the money lenders, and 33, when he became an insurgent, pitted against an invading Imperical army in an Arabian state. Anglo-centric nonsense, if you ask me. But the words have inspired many generations - and it's one of the few poems that seems to bridge the gap, and everyone from Billy Bragg to Margaret Thatcher can get moved by it.
I seldom give something about the words. But I really like the music. Thanks for the explanation. I'll think about it the next time I hear it :) bye swave