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