Ballad of a Ragged Idiot
As I walk the streets, I shuffle along
Whistling a tune, singing a song
The hole in my trouser seat lets in the breeze
And my well darned socks are pulled up to my knees
The Sun shines down like gold coins on my face
And the wind blows my hair all over the place
Not that I have much, time has withered it away
So my bald patch shines brightly on a hot sunny day
My battered old boots have seen many a day, in and out
With holes in the soles the water comes in and pours out
But I trundle around, without a care
Doing odd jobs to earn a bob here and there
I sleep soundly at night lying under the stars
No drinking for me, no nightclubs or bars
With the Moon as my light bulb my bedrooms always lit
So I mostly sleep soundly, only snoring a bit
In the morning it’s a scrounge round for something to eat
Then I find a nice park bench; sit my bum on a seat
Good Morning, good morning I say as people pass by
Returned occasionally by an offensive remark, that I just let lie
It’s a long way from the trenches in the fields of Verdun long ago
Where I fought years earlier with my comrades in tow
Amongst the bullets and the blood crawling low across fields
To fight a war in which neither side yields
The mortars drop constantly, the bullets whiz by
As my comrades drop regularly, sadly to die
How long will this last we tend to ask each other
Will I ever return home to my wife and my mother
Sadly, many didn’t make it, back home at all
Lost their lives in the melee, their time ends where they fall
The Poppy Fields in France their last resting place
A symbol of their courage of the mountain they had to face
I was one of the lucky ones – I made it back
But the problem never ended, my outlook was black
Unable to fit in where I used to be in life
Failing to deal with the trouble and strife
Because of what I had seen and been through, always on my mind
Now I just wander the road sleeping where I can find
Somewhere suitable, anywhere I can leave my bad memories behind
Just a mere resemblance of my long ago man
Now a shadow in the wilderness with a dull outdoor tan
But the Poppies remind me of that time all those years past
Of the fallen friends and comrades that I lost in every bomb blast
The blood and the screams hard to erase from one’s mind
All these years later, hard to leave behind
But in my raggedy arse trousers and shoes full of holes
I still have a life, how good know one knows
But with the Sun and the Moon the Wind and the Rain
I will walk with a smile and enjoy life again
Knocking on Heavens Door
Here I stand a-waiting
To join that special band
On my way to St. Peters gate
To enter the Promised Land
I have lived my life, my time has come
Now I go to a better place
No time to weep, no time to cry
Thank the Lord my life was no disgrace
As I ride my cloud up to the stars
Where Heaven awaits me now
I always hoped that’s where my time would end
Always knew it would somehow
The staircase seems long and winding
As my steps get heavier as I walk that walk
Only time to think and dream
I have no time to talk
Even in my own mind it seems
It’s an endless path to what may never exist
The higher I seem to float along
These negative thoughts I must desist
What if I am refused entry, what will I do?
Could that really happen to me
Of course not when standing at my side
I have you my Guardian Angel, looking after me you see