LEARNING TO DANCE.

 

When I was young I learned to dance.

Early on I took the chance to swerve,

To have the nerve to move my hips,

Have the balls to move my lips and shout.

There never was a moment of doubt

I would be the one to blame.

I would have a claim to fame.

I would be the one who’s always brash.

I would be just Northern trash, with attitude.

The one who’s rude,

The one who always moans about the food,

And the dog who leaves its coat there

Then coughs its way back up the stairs at midnight.

Hairy eggs and hairy beans.

Tins of steak when times were lean.

Service wash, under the cosh and suffering,

Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll buffering

The distance between learning and pain.

Black Sabbath the new refrain.

Long trench coats and longer hair,

Custom jeans with giant flairs.

Loon pants and cheesecloth shirts,

Believing we were extroverts.

The reality was we were merely clones,

Banning the bomb and leaving home too soon.

Snaking our hips to hypnotic tunes

Of peace and love and hope.

All the while smoking dope and tripping out,

There never was a moment of doubt we would change the world.

The Summer of Love would be unfurled.

Turned on, tuned in, dropped out,

We had found the right to shout with new found psychedelic voices.

“Times are changing make a choice!!”

“Bombs or peace. The dogs of war have been released”

Flower power would topple the towers of the upper classes.

We got up off our arses onto sandaled feet,

Fashioned placards, took to the streets,

And learned to dance to a different beat,

The drums of protest. With civil unrest the guest of the times,

Trying to deal with Thatchers’ crimes.

Riot squads and plastic shields,

Transformed  the streets into battlefields.

Broken miners, broken men.

Broken communities, never again.

Now it’s austerity, the National Health.

Tax avoidance, corruption and stealth.

Tighten our belts, Kow Tow to the svelts.

Seems we’ll have to learn to dance once more

Break the shackles and take to the floor

Learn to duck, learn to dive, keep the 60’s dream alive.

Peace and love, enough for all. Stand up proud, stand up tall.

Learn once more to swerve our hips,

Have the confidence to move our lips,

And shout ......

“Get these 1%’ers out!!”

 

© By: - Pete Slater.      2016.