MY STORIES

I died last night with England in sight.
I howled at the wind - but the wind wasn't listening.
My stories always start
In places that are torn apart.
And it's only when
We find a way to stop it happening again
That my stories will end.

You were safe at home as the chill sank into my bones.
Tucked up warm in bed - as the waves closed over my head.
My stories always start
With shattered dreams and broken hearts.
And it's only when
You can promise me that it won't happen again
That my stories will end.

I was just like you till they silenced my voice.
I did what anyone would do when they're given no choice.
My stories always start
With the same questions that are always asked.
And it's only when
Someone finds a way to answer them
That my stories will end.


MIRIAM

Little Miriam always played on her own
When her brothers got too big.
Sometimes months went by when they didn't come home...
And she didn't recognise them when they did.
Gone was the fun
And the shrieks of laughter
That she held in her memory.
Their faces darker
Their eyes harder...
And they spent their whole day on their knees.

Miriam was taken out of school
And helped her mother round the house.
Told she only had to follow the rules
And keep as quiet as a mouse.
Her mother always did the best she could
And found her books and stuff.
Knowing whatever, she tried to do
It could never be enough.

Miriam, hardly breathing, in a bag
Underneath the blankets in the car.
Her brothers' fearsome reputation, and her uncle's way with words
Got them past the border guards.
Cars and trucks
And airless rooms
Filled with men with lifeless eyes.
Now she stands by the water
Looking out
At the twinkling lights
On the other side...


BORDERS & FENCES

Borders and fences
Are designed to keep people out,
Or to keep them in sometimes.
They build them high
And make them hard to cross.
Though some are willing to try
When they've already lost
All they had...

For borders and fences
To stand up strong
They just play on our fears
And our need to "belong".
Words and ideas
Given space and time
And fed and watered
Will come to define
Who we are....

Borders and Fences
Weren't always there,
Though we live with their consequences everywhere.
History's full of men
Who built "unscalable" walls.
To see them crack overnight.... and crumble, and fall.

Borders and fences
Are more than lines on a map.
They dull our senses
And keep us warn in the trap.
Channels and ditches
Or rolls of razor-wire
Patrolled by sons of bitches
To control the desire
To be free....

All music and lyrics copyright Greg Hancock 2023

Greg's guitars are tuned CGD#GA#C for all 3 songs