Yesterdays Men

Singalong. If you've a mind to.

Twas Joey the weasel that gave us the wire¬,
They were closing our factory down¬
Though we didn't believe him and we called him a liar¬,
The redundancy letters came round¬
As we read them in silence, I choked back a tear,
¬It was hard to believe after twenty-odd years


Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates¬
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic¬
Oh, We gave them our best years now they've paid us back¬,
By making us yesterday's men¬, Sure as hell¬, By making us yesterday's men


So We said our goodbyes by the factory gates,
¬One cold Friday evening last year¬
And I saw it all there in the eyes of ma mates,
The anger, the sadness, the fear¬
Like our fathers before us we worked there with pride,
¬Now we fought back the bitterness burning inside


Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates,¬
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic
Oh we gave them our best years now they've paid us back,¬
By making us yesterday's men,¬ Sure as hell¬, By making us yesterday's men

Ah Now Jimmy, said she, Give the kids a few bob,
¬After all, sure it is Friday night¬
But How could I tell her I was out of a job¬,
from now on things were going to be tight¬
How well I remember it cut like a knife,
I was never a day on the dole in my life


Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates¬,
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic¬
Oh, We gave them our best years now they've paid us back,¬
By making us yesterday's men¬, Sure as hell¬, By making us yesterday's men.

The machines now are silent, the workbenches bare,
And there's dust on the factory floor¬
They've boarded the windows and have chained up the gates¬,
And have padlocked the factory door
¬Now I'm on the scrap-heap, and I'm thirty-nine¬,
Just one of the hundreds, shot down in my prime


Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates¬,
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic¬
Oh, We gave them our best years now they've paid us back,
¬By making us yesterday's men¬, Sure as hell¬, By making us yesterday's men.

Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates¬,
Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic¬
Oh, We gave them our best years now they've paid us back,
¬By making us yesterday's men¬, Sure as hell¬, By making us yesterday's men.