True story; I simply went back home from the pub and wrote it. The fine fiddle and mandolin player Paul Kelly from Tallaght taught me the lovely tune “The Boys of Lough Gowna”, very often played at the sessions in Dublin, so I would like to dedicate to him this song.
I was seated in a corner
reading a Roddy Doyle book
a friend of mine entered the pub
he said me “heya how’s things?
don’t be anti-social
come with us and take a drink”
jaysus, I’d be delighted
me Paddy Clarke can wait.
A few words suited to the occasion
then a vibrate and a ring
everyone was online
on facebook or a chat
someone sending messages
someone sending smiles
sharing “yeah I’m in the pub”
on a Foursquare profile
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
When did we unlearn to listen?
When did we unlearn to talk?
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
I guess the time it happened I was off in the jacks
There was some lazy elbow
keeping the bar counter bright
Saturday night heroes
but lambs for the whole week
Then silent middle-aged men
In their off-white creased shirts
Searching for some fortune
at the penny slot-machine
Maybe it’s me and only me
and the way I’m getting old
I looked just like my da
when he grunted and disapproved
I took a look around me
The pub was almost full
But so silent and so boring
that I felt meself alone
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
When did we unlearn to live?
When did we unlearn to feel?
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
I guess the time it happened I was drunk in the jacks
We often try to change the world
discoursing about crap
And we feel so fecking better
when we share it on the web
What’s happening to us all?
and am I better or am I worse?
How can I believe in something
since I do not trust this world
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
When did we unlearn to learn?
When did we unlearn to think?
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
Ring-diddle-daddle-oh
I guess the time it happened I was off in the jacks
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