In those old red brick houses
In those old red brick houses
The terraced ones
Back to back
Jammed-up, close together
Cheek by jowl,
There was never enough room
For a front garden.
The front door opened
And people stepped
Straight out into the street.
The curtains were always
Pulled tight at night,
One sheet of thin glass and thick nets
Separating
The outside from the in.
You could hear people stirring tea
They spoke in whispers
Rarely using the front room
For anything
Unless they had visitors
And still, some guys would knock
Seven bells out of their wives
After a skinful
Without raising their voices
Beyond a terrifying scowl.
You could hear the dog growl
The babies in the back room howl.
Friday nights might see a door broken down
A rescue attempt
By the neighbours.
The police were never there
Too busy taking backhanders
And policing lock-ins.
When the wind picked up
The sea could roll in
Half a mile.
Drowning the lower streets
In sludge and slurry
From the coal heaps.
We could wake up with
A boat in the back garden.
The walk home from a pub
At closing time
Was always accompanied
By a series of musical interludes
Playing on a radio.
If somebody played rock’n’roll
On a gramophone
A crowd would gather,
There would be dancing in the streets
Until the Bobbies finally came.
They became experts
At crowd dispersal.
Just ask the miners.
Adults stood for the Anthem
At the end of a television broadcast,
Even after a skinful
And knuckles swollen from
Chastising the old lady.
Tugging a forelock
Came too easily.
It’s only right
To show respect
Is what was said
Stopping an argument
For the duration.
So many people shouting
Hooray at the end
It could sound like the last night
Of the Proms.
I have never met a Henry
Who didn’t want to be a Harry
Neither did I become a peeping Tom
Or a clever Dick.
It was too easy to be tarred
With the same stick
As the nere-do-wells
Who sat on the wall
By the cemetery
Drinking wine out of a brown paper bag,
With medicinal properties.
In a small town
Getting caught hiding in the shadows
Without a good reason
Was to have a placard
Emblazoned with the words
‘Sheep shagger’
Hung around your neck
For the rest of your life.