Maggie May on the Radio
I miss you Dad
I miss your ways
I miss the mischief
And those good ol' days
When weʼd be shooting pool
You telling me I shouldnʼt be skipping school
A careful warning and then we're cool
I miss the help when the world had me at my wits
And the way you laughed when you found my first mags filled with tits
I was hotter than the sun
You and Mum just made fun
And then the love letters youʼd find in my room
Hidden poorly but well enough Iʼd assume
My first break ups, the hurt and the pain
Youʼd take me drinking until I forgot my name
Troubles with you, were halved and halved again
I kind of took for granted your philosophical zen
Then our first real arguments came about
because I wanted to go clubbing at 15
But still you didnʼt shout
You told me not to go… You knew I would though
So you prepared me, you told me all about THAT club
About all the gangsters and the people they would snub
'A person had his eye gauged out with a fork' you said
When I got there, I was filled with fear, despair and dread
But it was all your ploy, the place was as chilled as an Arctic breeze
But you knew that all along, just wanted me not to be so green
In case there was trouble, I'dʼflee or get mean
Defend myself against ‘forkman’ if he was ever seen!
But you could do that, prepare us for the bad
So we could feel the relief when we knew that we'dʼbeen had
My brothers and I…
I miss you Dad
I miss you so much
I miss your magic
The way you bent life to your touch
The way you weaved the world
To hang on to your every word
You took any stress and made it into party
A shooting star, a God of the crafty
A pool shark, darts champion
An idol of my life
You lifted me
You angered me
We had some unruly fights…
Still we made it right
Your words of wisdom weaved…
And then we had to grieve you
I still think of you everyday
And somedays I feel you're near
Little symbols, little signs always bring a tear
Maggie May on the radio
It plays more than you know
Usually when the family is together
Or we're suffering the bad weather
Life's testsʼand trials
But Maggie brings a smile
The Stones, ELO, Santana, oh there's a pileʼ
Familiar songs that remind me of you
They keep our connection through and through
Though you were lost to me at eighteen
You remain, you're always on the scene
I can only dream we'll meet again
In a bar of your choosing, pool be thy game
I may lose, I usually do
But only when I play you
Never would you let me win
So when I did it was genuine
A special bond
An understanding in my soul
You made me whole
I hope I make you proud?
I hope I achieved that goal…
'Happy Birthday Dad, I'll have a drink in your honour this eve amigo'
© Richard Withey. All rights reserved.