No Deposit, No Return

歌詞

I remember my grandmother sat with her radio Teacup and walking stick set by her side As her old fingers reached out to turn up the volume I learnt what it meant to be bursting with pride She told me some tales of the wars great and last Black-and-white film stars she'd liked in the past Taught me a few songs she'd learnt as a child Stunned by her wisdom I listened and smiled She said to me "Lad, if you'll be a musician Then go out and be one but one with conviction If there's one lesson the young ought to learn, It's: pay no deposit and get no return" Get no return, pay no deposit and get no return On time-faded photographs I've seen an airman Stood next to the wings of a flying machine And given the choice well I think I would rather Have done what I've done than seen what he's seen I think that the Old Man feels really quite proud when he sits at the wheel and turns it up loud But imagined his son a lawyer or broker Not sat on a bus full of drinkers and tokers He said to me: "Son you can do as you please but always stand straight, never crawl on your knees If there's just one lesson the young ought to learn it's pay no deposit and get no return" If there's one lesson the young ought to learn It's: pay no deposit and get no return Get no return, pay no deposit and get no return I've such a short time to tell you so much words come second best to a kiss or a touch Far thicker than water this blood we all share So please don't think that for you I don't care Fate may have driven us all separate ways But can't sever ancestry, splice DNA If life seems a road that's uneven and long To know where you're going, just look who you came from Many have said I take after my mother For her '67 was not a good year Though often I make her annoyed like no other Through thick and through thin she has always been near Sometimes in the cold now I catch myself smiling 'bout some stupid joke or a Christmas tree shining I stood there so small 'neath that glittering tower It's memory a beacon in my darkest hour She said to me: "Martin, whatever you'll be There's no such thing as a meal that's for free If there's one lesson the young ought to learn It's pay no deposit and get no return" If there's one lesson the young ought to learn It's: pay no deposit and get no return Get no return, pay no deposit and get no return