A Glesca Childhood Poem by PAUL COLVIN

Ye’d get up early, huv a wash, that’s if ye really hud tae
Yer maw wid say, now mind yer ears; “but ma ahm urny dirty”!
Ye only want tae meet yer pals so you’re tearin’ doon the sterrs,
Oot the close tae catch the tram, wi’ a ha’penny fur yer ferr.

The tram wis jist a big day oot, we hudnae any money
A trip like this wis ance a week an’ we a’ thought it funny
Tryin’ tae get a ride furr free, jumpin’ aff an’ oan
Until a polis skelped yer ear and then ye’d start tae moan.

We’re a’ gaun tae Whiteinch baths, that’s why ah didnae wash
Ah cannae even swim masel’ but ah’d get in an’ splash
An’ then get oot right away, point acroass an’ start tae laugh
And hope yer pals don’t see ye’re feart and start tae slag ye aff.

There wurnae any motors, well, no’ that it wid matter
Cos we played fitba’ oan the street, we’re Brazil wi’ Glesca patter.
We wurr Pele, wee Garrincha and some were Denis Law
And then we’d wait furr hauf an ‘oor till sumdy fun’a ba’.

Jumpers, jaikits, bricks and boulders, these wurr furr the goals
And then we’d start,15 a side, wi’ troosers full o’ holes.
Every street hud a team but nane o’ us had strips
We jist played a’ summer long an’ played furr daft wee cups.

The next day we were up the canal, tryin’ tae catch some fish
We’d spend a’ day, catchin’ none, cos we were utter pish.
So off we’d go tae Bowling, wi’ sumdy’s bike ye’d stolen
An’ hauf the time get intae fights, a’ black and blue and swollen.

Then ye’d find a building site and steal the builder’s sand
Ye’d spread it oot, then lie doon, waitin’ furr yer tan
Ye’d dream ye wurr oan hoaliday, somewhere like Jamaica
The lassies hud their hula hoops but ye’d still wake up in Glesca.

We’d build a hut wi’ a’ the wid and now wurr shootin’ Gerry
An’ doon the road, the navy waits an’ that’s the Yoker Ferry.
We’d huv Bazookas, Tommy guns, made fae bits o’ wood we hud
An’ crawl around oor brand new hut, oor faces caked wi mud.

Even noo when ye pass a shoap an’ sweetie jars fill the rooms
Ye cannae help but go inside and look furr soor plooms.
Here ah um at fifty five, ah still get that wee buzz
These shoaps that say they huv them a’, cannae help the likes o’ us.

Why did we huv dinner school when what ye goat wis lunch
That word wis always hard to say until they gave us brunch.
Ah used tae think ah missed a meal an’ lunch wid huv been good
But ah could never understaun’ when lunchtime wis furr food.

When you got hame ye climbed the dykes then dreeped doon aff its wa’
Ye’d climb the drainpipes furr a race an’ hope ye widnae fa’.
Ye’d see who wis the fastest an’ hope that naeb’dy telt
Or else yer da’d come runnin’ oot, and hit ye wi’ his belt.

Mah big brother hated clipes but he cliped on me for smokin’
He saw mah pal and me wi’ fags, coughin’ nearly chokin’
He told mah da and he came oot, an’ huckled me upstairs
Draggin’ feet and screamin’ loud, he left me there in tears.

We hud laughs an’ loads o’ fun an’ widnae dare talk back
We gied oor parents great respect an’ never gied them flack
We a’ loved them far too much no matter what they done
Cos we were jist wee Glesca weans bein’ taught how tae huv fun.