Call it stupid But feeling not at all Light-hearted and romantic On St Valentine's day I pedal off Without thinking And follow my front wheel To arrive among brides and grooms Bouquets and buttonholes Limousines and vintage Rollers And even a flippinβ horse-drawn carriage As I cycle into Gretna Marriage-Ville, UK On St Valentine's day
Gretna, about 15 miles distant from me, where the blacksmith married, at the famous anvil, hundreds of 16 yr old runaway couples from the south who could not legally marry in England til the y were 18. Even today Gretna has a flourishing marriage economy, based on this romantic tradition.