Memory Lane.....  Alternative Memories II   

To get you in the mood here is an alternative version 
of the famous poem  'Oh where is the Glasgow'


Farewell Tae Glasgow.  by Jim McLean 

.
4. We huddled the gither tae keep warm in bed
    We'd nae sheets nor blankets jis auld coats instead
    And a big balaclava tae cover your head
   and god but it's cauld wis the only prayer said

1. Oh where is the Glasgow that I used tae know
   The tenement buildin's that let-in the snow
   Through the cracks in the plaster the cauld wind did blow
   And the water we washed in wis forty below

5. Noo ye've heard o' the closit that stood on the stair
    oors hud tae accommodate fifteen or mair
   And a wee broken windae let in the fresh air
   well I sometimes went inside, aye but just for a dare

2. We read by the gaslight, we hud nae TV
    Hot purridge for breakfast, cauld purridge fur tea
    Some weans had rickits and some had TB
    Aye thats whit the Glasgow of old meant tae me

6. Noo there's some say that tenement living was swell
   Thats the wally close toffs wi' a door wi' a bell
   Two rooms and a kitchen and a bathroom as well
   While the rest of us lived in a single-end hell

.3. Noo the neighbours complained if we played wi' a ba'
   or hunch cuddy hunch against somebody's wa'
   If we played kick the can we'd tae watch fur the law
   for the polis made sure we did sweet bugger a'.
.

7. So wipe aff that smile when ye talk o' the days
    That ye lived in the Gorbals or Brigton way
    Remember the mice and the rats that you chased
    For tenement livin' was a bloody disgrace.

[````````]

From the alternative memories the conditions were often deplorable yet this song typifies the feelings that were prevalent when the letter arrived informing the family that they had to move as the building was being demolished. We ALL wanted to stay! 
The majority of folk didn't want to leave there friends and community, unfortunately the idea of renovating the tenement buildings came to late for most of us and neighbours, friends and families were scattered to the 4 winds

                              Oh they're pullin' doon the buildin' next tae oors
1. Noo A’hm a workin gent Ah live in a tenement,  in the heart o' one o' Glasgow’s biggest slums.
    But they’re goin tae improve and so we’ve been telt tae move, by those mansion dwellin' Corporation bums
 . 
Ch. Oh they’re pullin doon the buildin next tae oors, and they’re sendin us tae greenbelts trees an fleurs
      But we do not want tae go and we daily tell them so, while they’re pullin doon the buildin next tae oors.

2.  Noo oor family’s the lot who’ve been stayin in this spot, for nearly sixty years without a break
    When they ordered us tae go, we just telt them point blank no, Ye can go an jump in Scotland’s only lake
Chorus
3. Noo many folks have laughed an they’ve said that we were daft, No tae go where everything is new an neat
    But we’re happy where we are, think we’re better aff by far, wi a pub on every corner of the street.
Chorus
4. Well they ordered us tae quit an at last we hud tae flit,  It took four removal vans tae shift the load
    Aye we moved just yesterday but it’s no sae faur away, It’s the building facin oors across the road

Chorus  Noo they’re pullin doon the buildin facin oors, and they’re sendin us tae greenbelts trees an fleurs
            But we do not want tae go and we’ll daily tell them so, while they’re pullin doon the buidin facin oors.
.

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