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about

About the life of Tom Barclay, who arrived in Leicester as a young child in the wake of the Irish potato famine and wrote a book " Memoirs and Medleys" about his early struggles and later experiences as a pioneer socialist. Written by Dave.

lyrics

The Ballad of Tom Barclay
Down in the dark in Abbey Street
That was where I first found my feet,
Life was nought but a bag of bones
Dodging all those sticks and stones
Cap in hand and hand to mouth
Waiting for the day when the money ran out
Trying to learn the rules of the game
Tom Barclay is my name

1.When first I came into this town
From across the Irish Sea,
A squalid hovel for a home
Was my first memory
From starvation put to flight
No choice but emigration
But we found no welcome here
Among this English nation.

Down in the dark in Abbey Street

2.Hounded by the Sassenach kids
Many a battle we did fight
Mother took comfort in devotion
Dad came home drunk on a Friday night
Early on I did decide
That I would learn to read and write
And soon me eyes were opened wide
As I began to see the light..

Down in the dark in Abbey Street

3. I threw myself into finding out
Improving things for the working class,
Though down at the free and easy,
It’s oh so easy to just down a glass
Things they never will get better
If you just give in to that call,
Joined the Labour Party
To fight for a better life for all

credits

from Legends of Leicester & Leicestershire Vol. III, released December 22, 2022
Vocals and guitar - Dave Taylor . mandolin - Steve Cartwright. bodhran - Dave Jagger.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Steve Cartwright Leicester, UK

I am a singer/songwriter (of considerable repute), a poet and an artist and I’ve been around for centuries. I write great songs and you’ll find they span a variety of styles and cover a very wide range of topics. My poems (like my songs) are designed to inform and challenge and to make you laugh and cry. ... more

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