As I sit in my chair and close my eyes
But it matters not how hard I try
I do my best to visualise
The years are trying to pass me by
In the early years, when times were hard
When our worries were Oh! so small
We’d always find time to play in the yard
And wait for Mother’s dinner time call
And as we grew older, long trousers in sight
For shorts we’d started to outgrow
And to bath in front of the fire on Friday, in private
Even when you were last in the row
‘cos to Mother our bath night ,was ever a chore
Hot water a thing we had not
‘til a fire was ignited beneath laundry tub, full of water
To get twenty five gallons hot.
During the week at school we would study
And wait for the weekend to come
To play football and get disgustingly muddy
And come home to “an earful” from Mum
Before going to school on a weekday
A newspaper round had to be done
At weekends we went to work with the milkman
Delivering 700 pints on the run
And in the mid teens, when school was long past
A career not a hard thing to find
But deciding which type of job was best suited you
Went round and round in your mind
Then off to work each day of the week
Working from nine until five
To bring home two pounds, six shillings and fourpence
To keep body and soul alive
The next step you took was a big one
Two years with the Flag and The Queen
Mandatory National Service
‘tho young men never seemed too keen
A Uniform to wear with pride
And webbing and “blanco” and rifle
With a wage of a mere 24 shillings a week
At the time it seemed very trifle
Two years of your life you would never forget
The experience and friends that you’d made
I think it’s time to bring this tale to an end
Lest my memory starts to fade