No Fear Back Then

[Musical Intro] Intro People talk about danger these days… Helmets, warning signs, rules for the rules. Well, when I was a little girl.... We didn’t go lookin’ for trouble…. Trouble just knew where we lived. Verse 1 The earliest memory is at the river, Dad said, “Throw that bottle far,” One wrong step on broken glass, Left me bleedin’ like a wounded shark. Thought I was done for, that day, Blood everywhere, a proper scene.... That scar’s still with me sixty odd years on, Proof I wasn’t imaginin’ things. [Music for 5 beats] Verse 2 We rode on the back of pops flatbed truck, No seatbelts, just a rope .... hope and prayer, Me, my brothers, my sister too, Singin’ songs into the air. If we hit a bump and someone bounced, Well that was just part of the ride, Pop would glance back....... Checking that we were still tied on. Chorus Didn’t know fear in our little world, Didn’t give it much thought at all, If you survived, you laughed about it, If you didn’t.... ....well…. you usually did. [Music for 5 beats] Verse 3 When I was a little girl, we drank hose water, Bit of rubber, bit of rust, If it killed us....it took its time, Seemed to build a bit of trust. We climbed the roof, jumped straight down, Brains still under construction then.... One nail through the foot stopped play, Pliers fixed that problem, smart. [ Music for 5 beats] Verse 4 Had a headless rocking horse out back, Flash as anything we’d ever seen, Poor as dirt but rich in fun .... ....Didn’t know what “less” could mean. [Pause 2 beats] Jumped off quick, met a rusty screw, Leg tore open, tears held tight.... ...... That scar’s still there sixty years on, A proud medal of my youth gone by. Final Chorus Didn’t know fear in the little world, Just dust and days and scraped-up skin, We didn’t push our luck on purpose.... Luck just liked pushin’ us back again. Spoken Outro [statement] They say kids today are wrapped in cotton wool. Maybe they are… maybe they’re not. All I know is this.... .....I’ve got the scars..... .....I’ve got the stories..... .....And I’m still here to tell ’em..... So no… I don’t remember fear out there in the world. But I remember livin’.... [Music outro] ........