Big wide Shoulder©2018TonyFallon1128
My dad worked all his life in the local quarry
Shoveling tons of stones into a big red lorry
They also sent them out in monster train loads
Headed down to County Mayo for their new tar roads
They might also have been sent to the Airport in Knock
Or to built walls at the mart to keep in livestock
Those little stones were created by dynamite
Often there were surprise explosions late at night
In the morning you might find a broken plate
Or from the main house or shed a missing slate
I won't tell you what the dog did under the table
And the cow and pigs were crazy in the stable
We knew there were some drawbacks and did not grouse
My father's pay cheque kept clothes and food in the house
There is no doubting now he should have worn a mask
As he went daily about that very dusty task
But there was no overseeing then at such sites
And no one gave a damn about poor workers rights
Between the cigarettes and dust he acquired a cough
If he asked for a sick day with pay they would scoff
To take care of his family he would go to any length
There was one great thing about him his upper body strength
He was the rock like anchor of the local tug of war
There was no moving him as he responded to the roar
Stripped bare to the waste you could see his muscles swell
And many famous teams before our tug of war team fell
Its many the time I thought of those days as I grew older
When my father carried me round on his big wide shoulder
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