I woke to the sound of the birds
Singin’in the mornin’
From their secret world
Among the leafy trees
And I touched the breeze with my flesh
And I felt it soothin’
’Twas a feelin’ that no one could take from me
Chorus:
When you’re down and out
And maybe short of a pound
You can see the world
In a different light
If your mind is blown
You don’t be needin’ a home
Just the will to keep you
A ramblin’ on
I steered my way around
The obstacles of that mornin’
That were visible
Only for me to see
And I jumped a train in a state
Of sheer desperation
I’d a frightenin’ thought that demons followed me
The train brought me to the outskirts
Of another crowded city
Where the taste of life
Appealed no more to me
Than to animals in the zoo
Locked up in their cages
Just a hopin’ that some day they could be free
I tried to conform to the ways
Of that revilin’ city
So I flung myself
With gusto in the spree
But I knew in my heart an’soul
There was somethin’missin’
’Twas the song of the birds driftin’o’er the breeze
BROKEN PROMISES
He stands on a far distant shore
And squints up his eyes ’gainst the glare
Of sun rays that seem like they dance
On top of the tumblin’ waves
His heart it grows sad
In spite of the time
That’s drifted away
With tide after tide
He thinks of the day that he left
And sailed ’cross them very same waves
Of promises made to his love
He broke in them turbulent days
For youth can’t be chained
Its spirit is free
And no one can plan
How life’s goin’to be
Her image is clear in his mind
Her touch remains warm on his flesh
Her laughter that once rang with joy
Still echoes inside of his head
She haunts him in dreams
That disturb his sleep
But like a rainbow
She stays far out of reach
He wrote her a letter one day
To say he was sorry he failed
But cast it away o’er the waves
Before he had finished the page
How could he explain
He grieved for her pain
But found a new life
And nay’er would return
The truth of the matter is plain
To those who’ve burned by the flame
Of freedom that melted their chains
And guided their way o’er the main
The salt-sea wind blows
He turns from the shore
The sun lays to rest
On Neptune’s breast
PADDY "BONES" SWEENEY
By the banks of the still water canal
A young boy listened and gazed in awe
To the sound and appearance of musicians
The jigs the reels the ballads and the crack
’Twas in Dublin town he was enchanted
By the buskers who played on the street
At the age of sixteen he chose the road
A busker’s life of freedom to live his dream
Chorus:
Paddy "Bones" Sweeney was a ramblin’ man
With a heart that yearned to be free
Paddy "Bones" Sweeney’s music lives on
Still echoes everywhere he once played
An old bicycle was his first transport
By nights he slept in a wattle tent
Then in later years a horse-drawn caravan
Was his home on the roads he loved to roam
With harmonica and pair of bones
He entertained to his heart’s content
The people who would generously contribute
To a busker they could tell knew his trade
Well ’tis many years since I first met him
An agein’ man younger than his years
We spent the day engrossed in playin’ music
While lashin’ back pints of stout in old Mc Daids
There he told me he’d settled in Dublin
How life on the road became too hard
Then with saddened heart he spoke of the changes
How tradition would be soon forgotten
He remembered well the cross roads dancin’
How the people would all gather there
And the drovers and the dealers at the fairs
Where he enjoyed the buskin’ most of all
Other times he’d talk about the old ones
Banjo Harry, Mick the Whistle, The Blind Mice
How they’d meet up at fairs or race meetin’s
With Margaret Barry and play mighty tunes
Well the last time I met him he was eager
To hit the road one last time I guessed
I wished him the best of luck as we parted
Now I hope his ramblin’ spirit has found rest
Paddy Tinsley