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When I was just a little boy
We didn’t have a lot
My mother kept the lights on
With some silver in the slot
The tv was a rental one
That too was on a meter
But when I cast my mind back
Life back then, seemed so much sweeter
The larder wasn’t always full
Of tasty things to eat
But we didn’t notice hunger
As we played outside in the street
Our clothes weren’t always bought from new
Quite often worn before
But we didn’t follow fashion
Never thought to ask for more
My mother’s purse was empty
Except of course for dreams
But she always found some pennies
To buy us both Ice Creams
Our shoes were always measured
Our hair was always neat
I remember she insisted
You must take care of your feet!
School uniforms were granted
Given by the state
We looked as smart as anyone
When we walked through that school gate
In summer we picked berries
From the hedgerows in the field
Our fingers stained with purple
We delighted in our yield
No games consoles to keep us quiet
Our joy was climbing trees
Making dens in bales of straw
With grass stains on our knees
We didn’t know the world beyond
The place we use to play
We didn’t have a single care
As night just followed day
The girls would make their perfume
With petals from the flowers
Often getting in hot water
Cos the blooms were never ours
We’d nick the fairy liquid tub
To have a water fight
And on the baking concrete
Our names we’d always write
We shared bikes and we shared footballs
Used our sweaters as the goal
And when the bitter winter came
We’d fill buckets up with coal
Every single chimney
Cast a plume into the sky
As we huddled by the fire
With a meat and tatty pie
Bath night was always Sunday
And the tub we had to share
A frozen dash from the bathroom
With vosene suds in your hair
Scratch your name on the frosty pane
Before the curtains shut
Tucked under a heap of blankets
No choice but to stay put
We never took a holiday
Certainly not abroad
A day out to sunny Blackpool
Was all we could afford
We’d paddle in the Irish Sea
And sit down in the foam
Ride a donkey up the beach
And wish we could take it home
Our kitchen was always full of steam
From the endless pans of spuds
And we volunteered for washing up
To play games with the suds
We made toast on the open fire
I can taste it to this day
Dripping in salted butter
It seems half a world away
Every Christmas there were presents
Underneath our tinsel tree
And always we were overjoyed
Whatever they may be
Never really knowing
They had cost our mother dear
And she wouldn’t clear her catalogue
Until Christmas came next year
In and out of houses
Up and down the street
Borrowing cups of sugar
We helped each other make ends meet
The house phone had a lock on it
So we could’nt run the bill
And we only tasted lucozade
If we were gravely ill
The doctor saw you on your sofa
With his stethoscope and bag
A week off school was endless
If you managed with the blag
John craven brought you newsround
Quite against your will
You rarely paid attention
You were waiting for Grange Hill
Vinyl records in the sideboard
And a smoked glass record player
You listened to Madonna
And you hated Leo Sayer
And when you went to bed at night
That then was mother’s time
You’d hear her downstairs singing
To Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline
Life back then was infinite
You never could grow old
There was nothing to be frightened of
With your mother’s hand to hold
Death was never mentioned
Too young to understand
It’s seems that life would just work out
The way you had it planned
But the years passed in minutes
There was no time to spare
Overnight it seems..... the silver threads
Adorned your mother’s hair
Your endless days were over
As time raced away at pace
And the happy days of innocence
Disappeared ... without trace
Don’t waste a single minute
Of this life with which you’re blessed
Things change in just a heartbeat
The ride can come to rest
Good times become just memories
Faces fade and smiles are lost
Don’t wish away a second
Hang on... at any cost
When I was just a little boy
We didn’t have a lot
But one day... all of that nothing
Will be the greatest gift I’ve got
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Nice one, MR_MAGOO.
Sounds very familiar.
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