Tom Barclay's Tale (feat. Steve Cartwright & Dave Jagger)

The Ballad of Tom Barclay When first I came into this town From across the Irish Sea A squalid hovel for a home Was my first memory From starvation put to flight No choice but emigration But we found no welcome here Among this English nation Down in the dark in Abbey Street That was where I first found my feet Life was nought but a bag of bones Dodging all those sticks and stones Cap in hand and hand to mouth Waiting for the day when the money ran out Trying to learn the rules of the game Tom Barclay is my name Hounded by the Sassenach kids Many a battle we did fight Mother took comfort in devotion Dad came home drunk on a Friday night Early on I did decide That I would learn to read and write And soon me eyes were opened wide As I began to see the light Down in the dark in Abbey Street I threw myself into bettering The lives of the working class Though down at the free and easy It's oh so easy to just down a glass Things they never will get better If you just give in to that call Joined the Labour Party To fight for a better life for all