The Kelly Song Collective
Folk Singer
I saw a folk singer Saturday night
In a room I hadn’t haunted in years
His voice and the Guinness had not aged a day
But since I’ve gone grey in the beard
Just when I’m out it draws me back in
Like a moon song wrestles the tide
Just when I forget a song I remember
Paul Brady’s Arthur McBride
Close is the steel pulled across spruce
And home is wood from the rose
Honest the hands that tease out the tune
Then hung from the neck I suppose
Just when I’m out it draws me back in
Like the Wexford fighting the lake
Just when I forget is when I remember
Luke and The Limerick Rake
A draw from a pipe is a portrait in coal
Savoured like smoke in a fire
Warming my back like a long ago Christmas
Funny how memories conspire
Just when I’m out it draws me back in
Like a Jack Pine on Algonquin rocks
Just when I forget a song I remember
The Lads O’ The Fair Leith Docks
Close to the lights but well in the darkness
Close to the sound but away
And in this small room to fumble with language
To know it will still end this way
Just when I’m out it draws me back in
Like playing on St. Patrick’s Day
Just when I forget a song I remember
When Ye Go Away
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© Michael Worthington Music 2014
