Originally a poem which I'd written in the 1980s, this one became a song in the 1990s. The poem began: "When the first man died/They dismantled him/In the wan light/Of greycoke tenement/And built him/ Into the walls/And there was no sweeping up/Or gathering/Of odd shapes/All was in order..."
RemainsWhen the first man died
they buried him somewhere
in the pale, pale shadow
of the little house where he used to live.
When the first man died
he left nothing
but his heart and his mind
In the memories of all the people he had loved.
When the first man died, when the first man died.
And as the mourners left the grave-side,
rubbing their hands to keep away the frost,
they were thinking,
they were thinking of nothing
but the love they'd lost.
Do do do do do do do do... etc
And when the second man died
they all came flocking
to the mansion on the hill.
When the second man died
they were scrapping and fighting,
making sure there was nothing
that was unaccounted for.
When the second man died, when the second man died.
And as the people left the grave-side,
with hearts so cold and icy stares,
they were thinking,
they were thinking of the treasures
that would now be theirs.
Do do do do do do do do... etc
©2003 Rahel Guzelian
