1981

I started off like dust and I'll go back to nothing Night skies and coast to coast, oceans running And so the camera pans from big bangs and grand plans To an ambulance speeding; 3am, West Dublin Mammy struggled the best that she could have for us In the Coombe, out the womb, in a puddle of blood Nothing from that day but pure luck and pure love And pure bliss. And all the grace that a god could summon Aunties spaced around the place cornering and coddling me And pinching my cheeks, and squealing with glee Made in his mother's own image, it's true He's got her brown eyes and her freckles Got her red hair and her blue moods Best guess of why my heart started thumping Its best left in the ether, that crack of thunder That competition in my stomach rising into my chest That commotion of emotions that's been travelling since That day In 1981 My grandfather was a union man. Don't see much now of that struggle Worked dough with his hands, a bakers bruised knuckles My grandmother scrubbed and cleaned the decks Knew where their last meal came from, she'd just wrung it's neck Bread stuffing Eating meat as grey as ash gravel Chew the fat off the steak - that's where the flavour gathers Closed stove lids, then closed their eyelids What did they dream? What did they hope for the kids? Cause I heard stories of their youngest starting bands in the midst Of the recession. Friday night. Get out all that aggression Teddy boys and mop-tops, new romantics to punk rock Soared high in the sky, then back to rock bottom Or so goes that myth by most long forgotten Those tall tales of infamy misbegotten One uncle had to flee the RA in disguise Another bashed Bono and he didn't apologize All the while, I'm still a twinkle in my mammy's eye Until that day 1981 Last in a long line of slaves blocked by obstacles And first of the worst cursed by all options possible I went to a college and I got a degree My uncles left school for jobs at 15 Some folks need nothing, they can naturally dance I got a 10-mile headstart and a second and third chance And I needed it. Reaped all the benefits Now I'm just making my way through touching the leg of the elephant Its all bliss, its all bliss The good parts, the bad parts, the hurtful words, and the awfulness That soft kiss, that soft kiss Passed down from the parents To the kids, to the grandkids, to the great grandkids Its all bliss, its all bliss And we're all just, sailing to the edge of the tall cliff Together and just jumping Into awful abyss and drifting in infinity A pulled thread in a bigger blanket A grain of salt at the family banquet in 1981