Dad was in the ground only three weeks when Mum and Betty waved me off;
It was the end of the farm, so Betty later said.
The bus out from Nambour took its time, though I'd called the depot months before;
There ain't enough miles once you've closed one of life's doors.
And I met this bloke in Brisbane, he gave me two-bob everyday
For driving round a lorry; it seemed I had it all my way.
And two-bob goes real far when you're a young bloke, so they say;
How was I to know,
that I had a debt to repay?
I started hangin' with a local, Vic, and his mates,
We'd bum a ride from his dad, a '51 Chevrolet,
And park near the tennis courts, whistlin' at the girls as they walked by,
And two-bob a day took a short walk, as I was easy prey.
Her name was Laney, and she had bloke in the wings,
But I'd be damned if I'd let that hinder things.
I showed her the town, while she showed me a wedding ring,
And before I knew it I was thirty, driving lorries for what it'd bring.
There I was with six kids in tow; and Laney long a drunk,
I'd been in and out of pubs for months now,
Dragging her out before divvy van came
I knew better than to ask for her boyfriend's name.
Then a letter came in the post (and Laney left for good),
So I bundled the kids into the Kingswood, and made for the old neighbourhood.
Betty had only written two lines, I guess she did what she could.
How was I to know,
that mum'd pass before she should?
Dad never told me about the god awful burden I would have to bear
And I never thought he'd killed himself because he was scared.
I wish I had have asked him then what it was that he feared,
How was I to know,
that it was all he held dear?
And now here in my faded chair, with a Govie pension plan,
The evenings pass by without a word as I grip a warm beer can;
And who's this bloke with wrinkles I see every now and then?
How was I to know,
that I would be an old man? |
Submission Name: How was I to know?
