Filming the Blues

The best jobs were the furthest away We'd pull out the tattered A to Zee Tony would drive, and if we were three Mark in the back would catch a few Zees Putting film on windows was a tough road to hoe Carrying equipment to and fro Scaling windows inside and out Up and down stairs, no lounging about Perching on ledges, arms outstreched Always more film that needs to be fetched Fix new blades in the cutting machine Pull steady and smooth and she cuts like a dream Check the Solarfilm reflectivity Very little intellectual activity The day is dragging, the job seems endless Arms are tired and need a rest Tony sighs and is unimpressed Palethorpes pie factory looms large in the past An ocean of dirty exterior glass The roof curved and sloping, Not much room to pass More than once I fell on my ass The pigs were squealing, The air was rife, with an odious odor, Depeche Mode played New Life My bro came with me on this job once or twice We tried our best to have some fun Twas the summer of 1981 One more job of which I'll lament The pottery factory in Stoke on Trent The bowls they made by slip deposition A strong and durable composition Toilets previously just for the lords Industrial icon, historic Twyfords Now succumbed to globalization A nostalgic reminder of this once great nation. Lunchtime was the highlight of the day We'd eat on the road, or in the van Never with Tony, the Plymouth Brethren Whose religious beliefs, he'd sometimes intone Required that he only eat with his own All in all, the days were droll Working at Westgate Solar Control We met lots of people of unequal rank At factories , businesses, also the bank Birmingham was our main stomping ground But we did jobs in odd spots for miles around The times were tough, the money was lean It's easy to ask, what might have been I'm thankful it 's over , coz I had always foreseen In a crash, the lethal cutting machine, Hung behind my head in the van on a skeen Ready to decapitate my head off clean. I'll close with our everlasting refrain The context is lacking, and I won't explain Other than to assert our old adage A stare, a pause, then "increase the dosage" !