A Word For The Begrudgers
I've been compromised, chastised, criticised and ill-advised
I've been supervised, scrutinised, analysed and pushed aside
And I can take it all, take it in my stride
But baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, don't patronise
I've been bored, I've been floored, I've been sore, I've been shown the door
I've been implored, explored, deplored and asked for more
And I can take it all, take it all on board
But baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, I won't be ignored
I've got a word for all the mofo mothers
For everyone who ever wished me ill
Got a word for all the begrudgers
We know what that word is
I've had inattention, condescension, every time my name got mentioned
Bad intentions, big pretensions
And not a whole lot of comprehension
And I can take it all without exception
But baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, now we're talking redemption
It can't be overstated, I've been underrated
I've been laughed at behind my back
But you can stick your grinning, this is just the beginning
And baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, that's a fact
Nobody Knows (for the Ma)
As you lay sleeping, I kissed you goodbye
I closed the door softly, I had tears in my eyes
I knew it was over, I knew it was through
But I knew that I’d never stop loving you
I know there were times when I wasn’t there
But I know that you knew just how much I cared
I know there are reasons and cycles and seasons
I know that the wheel will come round again
Nobody knows where the circle begins
Nobody knows where it ends
I’ve got a few photos from long, long ago
I take them out sometimes when I’m feeling low
They make me feel better, they make me feel good
But a picture’s a picture, not real flesh and blood
I see the light like silk on the water
Nights drawing in, days getting shorter
I know that the sun that I feel on my face
Also shines down on your resting place
Sunday Morning Walks After Mass (for The Da)
We used to take a walk, just you and me
Where the two rivers and the canal run out to the sea
The city was always quiet on Sundays way back then
A day of rest for the working men
Across the bridge and down the steps
Weeds in the dried-up grass, boats and old fishing nets
Jinny-Joes blowing across the black dirt track
Flowers growing wild out through every crack
My small hand in your old leather glove
It looked cracked and worn, but it felt like love
I still remember how it felt after all this time
How proud I was to hold your hand in mine
The canal would shine and sparkle as it tumbled out through the locks
Cranes on tracks through the cobble stones down along the docks
We'd cross the river on the ferry, then we'd come straight back
This was our own little world
After you'd gone, your coat hung in the hall
She kept it there and I'd see it every time I called
I still see it in my mind and it takes me back
To our Sunday morning walks after mass
The factories, coal boats on the quays
The Broken Wall, wheat lorries on the streets
The gas works, the dog track and the mills
The Bottle House, the Iron Bridge
The rivers still run and the tides still ebb and flow
But the ships are gone, factories all shut down
Sometimes I walk those street but now I walk alone
It's not the same, it doesn't feel like home
Everything changes but not some things inside
Like memories of you that I keep alive
Sometimes the mirror takes me by surprise
And I think it's you, looking through my eyes
Maybe some day someone will think of me
And remember the way I used to be
Some small hand in some old leather glove
That looks rough and worn, but feels like love
The Lockdown Blues 2020
We're all alone when we want to walk, we use the phone if we need to talk
Complete lockdown is the price we pay till this dreaded virus goes away
Social gathering is out of bounds, schools are empty, there's not a sound
Children bored, they can't socialise but it's far more scary than they realise
Got the lockdown blues 2020
Time to think, we all got plenty
You've got your thoughts, I've got mine
I'm thinking when this is over I'll see you down the line
No more visits to the local hairdresser, her hair will soon be grey, God bless her
No more bingo or games of cards, we're all confined to our own backyards
The parks are closed, there's no games to play, gates locked up by the GAA
The weekly Lotto put on hold, promoters grounded so they can't be sold
We've got our orders to stay at home, to our neighbours house we dare not roam
Families only combined to walk, alone for others, no stops, no talk
The grandchildren too must stay away, they're told come back another day
They'll tell the story in years to come, confined to home with Dad and Mum
Trade and business too must stop except for the chemist and the grocery shop
Marts and markets all shut down, an eerie silence every village every town
We spare a thought for our friends away, they can't come home, abroad they'll stay
Yours truly too must stay at home and talk to friends on the telephone
Patsy And Nora (for my uncle, Patsy Daly, and his sweetheart Nora)
Patsy was the eldest of a family of six
He was always kinda frail, he was always kinda sick
Their little house was overcrowded, they didn’t have a lot
But they always had plenty of the stuff that can’t be bought
When he fell in love with Nora it was like his life began
He started dreaming dreams, he started making plans
Now work was hard to come by back in 1932
So he signed up for the army, there was nothing else to do
But his army life was over by 1933
They didn’t want their soldiers infected with TB
So they took back his rifle, they took back his hope
Gave him a one-way ticket and sent him home broke
Some of us survive and some of us don’t
Even when we’re all in the same boat
It seems that our luck is all that we’ve got
Some of us are lucky, some of us are not
Patsy saw his days out in that little house
Lying in the bed or wrapped up on the couch
When Nora came to see him, they’d sit there holding hands
But she knew she was holding on to a dying man
She told him that she loved him, she said he could depend
She would stand by him, right until the end
But late in the winter of 1934
Nora came by one last time and never came no more
She went back to her family in a Tipperary town
Patsy couldn’t understand why she’d let him down
He spent all his time in bed now, Nora on his mind
Staring at the ceiling, waiting for his time
It was on a sunny morning, a few days before he went
The postman brought a letter that Nora’s sister sent
She said Nora knew her time was up when they met her at the train
She said before she passed away she was calling Patsy’s name
Patsy just asked for the door to be closed
He said that he wanted to be on his own
Balls To The Wall
It's been go, go, go, balls to the wall
But warm summer kisses cool off in the fall
You can take your clock down offa my wall
My time is all my own, it's not your call
I'm gonna lie low, low, low, don't bother to call
Gonna give myself a break, get away from it all
I don't want to feel my back up against your wall
Don't try to change my mind, don't say nothing at all
Is this really the end or just going round in circles again
We've been down this road so many times before
Someone give me advice
Somebody read me my rights
Someone tell me I know what I'm doing
I'm gonna say no, no, no, I'm not gonna play ball
Why don't you take a look at the writing on the wall
You don't know, know, know, you don't know me at all
This is as far as we're going, it's been a long long haul
She Was An Angel To Me
I was sitting at the bar on a cold winter's night
Snow on the runway, they'd grounded all flights
The old man beside me looked right in my eye
He said “she was an angel to me”
I bought him a drink and he talked for a while
He spoke of his woman, his angel, his bride
How he found her and loved her and lost her again
He said “she was an angel to me”
She was an angel to me, ah she really was
Talked like a sister would, laughed like a brother would
Danced like no other could, loved like a lover should
She was an angel to me, she really was
She was an angel to me
Well he watched from a distance like men sometimes do
Took his time hoping she'd notice him too
It didn't take long, they both knew what they knew
She was an angel to me
Half a lifetime had passed when she slipped away
How he treasured those years how he cherished each day
How he still saw her face in the morning sun's rays
She was an angel to me
Now my number was called and I wished him goodnight
I thought of my own love, I thought of our life
And I smiled to myself as I boarded my flight
That old man was an angel to me
One Drink At A Time
You can climb right up to the mountain top
But then you have to come down again
Spend all your life storming heaven with your prayers
And lose your faith in the end
I used to think that this would be forever
But then the world came and put me right
Now I'm drinking in the daytime
I don't wanna go home at night
Another bottle of wine
Getting close to the borderline
Can't think about today
Don't wanna talk about last night
Another pain in the head
Another struggle getting out of the bed
I'm gonna take it one drink at a time
Give me another bottle of wine
I did every thing I was supposed to
I worked hard, I never let up
I got everything I ever wanted
That was never gonna be enough
Cos there's questions that don't have answers
And there's blessings that are really a curse
Now I'm hoping that it's gonna get better
And I'm praying that it doesn't get worse