I’m a kid of the 50’s
And my playground was the streets
How I long for those cobbled stones
Firm beneath my feet
We would play from dawn to dusk
And our parents had no worries
For they knew when the street lights came on
We would run home with a flurry
We would play British Bulldog
And in Winter shine a moggy
And if you didn’t have a bike
You mate would give you a croggy
The days gone by are such a miss
A simple life is what I wish
When you made time for your friends
And thought that summer would never end
We had no knowledge of health and safety
In those days it would be thought crazy
We didn’t have a lot
But we made the most of what we’d got
We raced bogeys down the steepest hill
We had no fear of a spill
With many a bruise and a sprain
The very next day we would do the same
Those long-gone days are such a haze
My shoes were worn and my knees were grazed
My jeans were patched, my shirts were too
Hard to believe but I’m telling you
The days gone by are such a miss
A simple life is what I wish
When you made time for your friends
And thought that summer would never end
[Instrumental]
Now we live at such a fast pace
That’s the part about life I really hate
The sense of community, it’s all gone
Just looking out for number one
When a neighbor wasn’t just a neighbor
But a dear friend
And if you had nowt
You could always get a lend
The days gone by are such a miss
A simple life is what I wish
When you made time for your friends
And thought that summer would never end
Big Brother’s watching you
The time is drawing near
When your life won’t be your own
And they’ll rule by fear
You will be tagged like cattle
And herded like sheep
As more and more misery on your life
They’ll heap, and heap, and heap
Eventually there’ll come a day
Your right to freedom will be taken away
The oligarch’s greed everything will consume
All we will have left is a life full of gloom
The days gone by are such a miss
A simple life is what I wish
When you made time for your friends
And thought that summer would never end
How I wish for those salad days again
(Neil Petrie)