I don't know about anyone else but reading this took me to many places and brought a tear... FOR CHILDREN OF THE 60'S When I was just a little boy We didn’t have a lot My mother kept the lights on With some silver in the slot The tv was a rental one That too was on a meter But when I cast my mind back Life back then, seemed so much sweeter The larder wasn’t always full Of tasty things to eat But we didn’t notice hunger As we played outside in the street Our clothes weren’t always bought from new Quite often worn before But we didn’t follow fashion Never thought to ask for more My mother’s purse was empty Except of course for dreams But she always found some pennies To buy us both Ice Creams Our shoes were always measured Our hair was always neat I remember she insisted You must take care of your feet! School uniforms were granted Given by the state We looked as smart as anyone When we walked through that school gate In summer we picked berries From the hedgerows in the field Our fingers stained with purple We delighted in our yield No games consoles to keep us quiet Our joy was climbing trees Making dens in bales of straw With grass stains on our knees We didn’t know the world beyond The place we use to play We didn’t have a single care As night just followed day The girls would make their perfume With petals from the flowers Often getting in hot water Cos the blooms were never ours We’d nick the fairy liquid tub To have a water fight And on the baking concrete Our names we’d always write We shared bikes and we shared footballs Used our sweaters as the goal And when the bitter winter came We’d fill buckets up with coal Every single chimney Cast a plume into the sky As we huddled by the fire With a meat and tatty pie Bath night was always Sunday And the tub we had to share A frozen dash from the bathroom With vosene suds in your hair Scratch your name on the frosty pane Before the curtains shut Tucked under a heap of blankets No choice but to stay put We never took a holiday Certainly not abroad A day out to sunny Blackpool Was all we could afford We’d paddle in the Sea And sit down in the foam Ride a donkey up the beach And wish we could take it home Our kitchen was always full of steam From the endless pans of spuds And we volunteered for washing up To play games with the suds We made toast on the open fire I can taste it to this day Dripping in salted butter It seems half a world away Every Christmas there were presents Underneath our tinsel tree And always we were overjoyed Whatever they may be Never really knowing They had cost our mother dear And she wouldn’t clear her catalogue Until Christmas came next year In and out of houses Up and down the street Borrowing cups of sugar We helped each other make ends meet The house phone had a lock on it So we could’nt run the bill And we only tasted lucozade If we were gravely ill The doctor saw you on your sofa With his stethoscope and bag A week off school was endless If you managed with the blag John craven brought you newsround Quite against your will You rarely paid attention You were waiting for Grange Hill Vinyl records in the sideboard And a smoked glass record player You listened to Madonna And you hated Leo Sayer And when you went to bed at night That then was mother’s time You’d hear her downstairs singing To Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline Life back then was infinite You never could grow old There was nothing to be frightened of With your mother’s hand to hold Death was never mentioned Too young to understand It’s seems that life would just work out The way you had it planned But the years passed in minutes There was no time to spare Overnight it seems..... the silver threads Adorned your mother’s hair Your endless days were over As time raced away at pace And the happy days of innocence Disappeared ... without trace Don’t waste a single minute Of this life with which you’re blessed Things change in just a heartbeat The ride can come to rest Good times become just memories Faces fade and smiles are lost Don’t wish away a second Hang on... at any cost When I was just a little boy We didn’t have a lot But one day... all of that nothing Will be the greatest gift I’ve got .
Sorry to appear a killjoy but it's a bit mixed up. Dripping and borrowed sugar are pure 50/60's, but Leo Sayer, Madonna, Grange Hill? I don't think so. Where did you find it?
Posted today Plum elsewhere... more perhaps about certain sections resonating... maybe shouldn't have posted it.
People always glamourize the past but I wouldnt want to be sharing a room with 13 people like my grandma did down Beverley Road or drinking out of jamjars because there were no cups
Bought a couple of cocktails in an 'on trend' club in central Newcastle a few weeks ago. A bit of shrapnel short of twenty notes. Served it in a pair of ****ing jamjars. Bit like your Grannie's Bev Rd. gaff mate, they obviously couldn't afford proper glasses. And what's more, it had a piece of ****ing twig in it. Not a herb, or cherry or ice 'n' slice or whatnot. But a ****ing twig. Madness.
I find these type of posts a bit twee as well, loads of them on Facebook. I was born in the 60's and always feel like reminding the poster of the cruel teachers, bullying, dog **** covered streets, **** TV, neglectful parenting, unchecked child abuse etc. The boredom the Adverts and Buzzcocks sang about was real in the 70's hence the punk explosion, the past is a different country in many ways.
The 60s were great if you were a teenager. And there was very good TV. A good example of less is more.
