Paddy

From his window he watches as people
They come and go on their way
Rushing to catch the train homeward
As he often did in his day
He remembers the dark of the mornings
And the days he worked in the rain
The good times, the bad times and the friends that he knew
He'll never see them again.

At nights when the streets are deserted
Except for the take-away signs
He thinks of the men that he worked with
On the buildings the roads and the mines
The girl that he met in The Galtee
He thought he might make her his own
Maybe if there was less drinking
He wouldn't have wound up alone.

P is for powerful when put to the test
A is for always doing you're best
D is for doing if it can be done
And D is for drinking when workin' was done
Y is for yerning to see home again
Proud to be Irish and hard working men
Paddy remember though you're day is done
You're the rock that England stands on.

You can never explain just what happened
The years seem to pass like a day
Was it the rain or the shovel
Took the strenght from his limbs away
Sometimes he thinks of the boreen
That led from his house to the lane
And the fields that he worked with his father
He'll never see them again.

As he makes his way back to the shelter
Rain starts to fall on the ground
A young man just in from Cork City
Asks him where work could be found
He said son take a long look at Paddy
And remember whatever you do
This broken old man that you're seeing
Was once a young fellow like you.