[Verse 1: Northern soul male lead, heavy stomping backbeat and bright rhythm guitar] Forty years I told 'em that I'd left me glasses on the bus Let the lads read out the rota and I never made a fuss Signed me name a scribble with an X at the end Down the chippy I just pointed, said "the usual," my friend Then me lad come home from school, a book about a whale And he said, "Dad, read it," and I felt the colour in me fail So I made up all the words, aye, I made up every page And he laughed and said, "It doesn't say that," and I felt about his age [Pre-Hook: Northern soul male lead, handclaps building, keep the faith] Keep the faith, lad, keep the faith Every letter's just a step, and I can learn a step [Hook: Northern soul male lead, full band, sweeping strings] Bring me all the small words, every "if" and "was" and "the" All the little nothings that were sittin' heavy on me Now I read the small words, every page from end to end And the lad sat right beside me, more than son, he was me friend [Verse 2: Northern soul male lead, strings rising over the stomp] So it's Tuesdays at the library, the room above the stairs Me and seven other grown-ups on the little plastic chairs And at home the lad would sit with me at the kitchen table, slow Stumblin' on the same words, "Dad, I just don't know" So we learned 'em both together, "cat" and "ship" and "through" Every night another sentence, and the sentences just grew [Hook: Northern soul male lead, full band, sweeping strings] Bring me all the small words, every "if" and "was" and "the" All the little nothings that were sittin' heavy on me Now I read the small words, every page from end to end And the lad sat right beside me, more than son, he was me friend [Verse 3: Northern soul male lead, bass guitar driving, the stomp heavier] Big words never scared me, aye, the big words had a shape "Elephant" and "Saturday," you couldn't make a mistake It was "of" that had me drownin', it was "was" that had me beat It was all the little nothings holdin' sentences on their feet And the night I read the whale book, every page and every line Not a single word invented, every single one was mine And the lad was lyin' next to me, his finger on the page And he never once corrected me, he just let me take the stage [Bridge: Northern soul male lead, signature sweep, the strings swelling upward on every letter of his name] K, and E, and V, and I, and N Then the long name, all of it, joined up end to end And the lad goes, "Dad, I could read it all along I only got stuck so you'd never be stuck on your own" [Final Hook: Northern soul male lead, full band, sweeping strings, every hand clapping] Bring me all the small words, every "if" and "was" and "the" All the little nothings that were sittin' heavy on me Now I read the small words, every page from end to end And the lad sat right beside me, more than son, he was me friend [Outro: Northern soul male lead, over the stomp] Keep the faith, lad, aye [End]
