The Meanest of Times lyrics

In the town of Milton one
Brian Flannigan battered away till his money was spent
Then he hit a big one and felt like a man again,
Bought a three decker with two floors for rent

He threw a big party for friends
And relations at a grand old place called Florian Hall
And if you'll just listen I'll make your eyes glisten
To the rows and the ructions of Flannigan's ball.

[Chorus:]

Anxious nights give way to daylight
She don't cry and she don't complain
To honor, cherish, protect and keep you
She took your problems and took your name
All she wants to do is stroll down the island
She don't care if there's wind or there's rain
Only a women of her stature
Could shield you from the venom of this town's disdain

And she'll wait by your side
She'll never let you out of her sight

Last night as I lay dreaming of pleasant days gone by
My mind was spent on rambling to Boston I did fly
I stepped on board a vision and I followed with the wind
When next I came to anchor at the rocks on Fairmount Hill

It was on the 23rd of June the day before the fair
When Boston sons and daughters and friends assemble there
The young, the old, the brave, and the bold
Came their duty to fulfill

The barrel fire's fading
My pals are disappearing
Another night is passing but I won't go
It's 2AM at townie
and things are going my way
Three buds, a glove and a foot of snow
There's two little shits
Selling joints on the hill
And the kids down the lot
Are burning cruisers for a thrill
See, we had each other
It was us against the world
Famous for nothing
Yeah, nothing was our world

Ricky and Gar
Well, they took it too far
They didn't make it
They didn't make it

Chrissy and Stage
Though they made no mistakes
They didn't make it
They didn't make it

Whether living with hope
or at the end of the rope
It isn't written in the stone
When the futures unknown
And though some do atone
Through no fault of their own
They fall through the cracks
And get left by the wayside

[Chorus:]

My first day out it rained
Eight years on a chain
For a crime that wasn't mind, I did the time
As the door shut behind me
I was left so lonely
No one remembered, no one was there
To hear my please to hear my prayers

I'll begin again
I was headed here from the start
I'll begin again
I paid my price for my part
[x2]

Not a dollar to my name
I suppose I can't complain
My life again was mine

When on the road to sweet Athy,
Hurroo Hurroo
When on the road to sweet Athy,
Hurroo Hurroo
When on the road to sweet Athy
A stick in the hand, A drop in the eye
A doleful damsel I heard cry
Johnny I hardly knew ya

Where are the eyes that looked so mild,
Hurroo Hurroo
Where are the eyes that looked so mild,
Hurroo Hurroo
Where are the eyes that looked so mild

I first meet this man at the Cammen street Tracks
In no shape for success headed nowhere to fast

He may have been someone once by the sound of his call
Now he answers to no one
NO-ONE AT ALL!

We all die alone, he shouted as he passed
with no sense of regret, see he never looked back

For his pride was wounded, his ego was strong
Yea that was his Trouble and this is his Song

In a child's eye there's something I hope someday you'll know
A friend's dedication, it's something to behold
A mother's smile, it makes everything alright
To a women's caring hand I'll be holding on tonight

[Chorus:]
When you got love and we got family [x2]
Keep 'em close and don't forget
To hold them right there in your heart
When you got love and family

(Whoa!, Whoa!)

The bed was still warm where I slept
From these hours I wish to forget
With the night still fresh on my breath
I awoke to the grim face of death

I thought it was all just a nightmare
I guess it was true

As I crawled across the floor for the door
From one room I don't know to the next
There was nothing familiar around
And it just ain't my style to leave the seat down

Something's gone wrong with the world today
What's the matter with the human race
Everybody's fighting for more power and money
Braveheart's a racist
The paperboy's a junkie

And what's with the role models for all our boys and girls
Anorexic skinny monsters who seem to rule the world
The ball players you loved as a kid are gone
They've been replaced by steroid fed Neanderthals

I was at my weakest state
And you kept pushing me on
You gave me something to believe in
And it keeps me standing strong
These lessons that I've learned
These things I'll carry on
And when you're gone I'll honor you
Each day, however long

This glimmer of hope was never enough
To guide me through the darkness like a diamond
In the rough
I held out for and I received

She had excuses and she chose to use them
She was the victim of unspeakable abuses
Her husband was violent, malicious and distant
Her kids now belong to the state of Massachusetts

They've been taken away! Hey!
They've been taken away!

Billy was a bright one, Tommy's off his head
Mother loved them both the same, at least that's what she said

Young kids in Catholic schools
Elderly parents living under your roof
You pay the bills and you pay the price
You don't back down and you won't play nice
The disgraced values of the company man
Are why you fight and sacrifice
Don't bed or break for their one-way rules
Or run from battles you know you'll lose

[Chorus:]
Greed is blinding you
But we can see
He's got yesterday's values

Now hear me all you victims
Come listen, gather around
For now we'll tell the story of four brothers in the ground
One died from the bottle though he wouldn't harm a fly
He froze in the south end alley
Behind a gin mill left to die
And another died by the bullet at the hand's of a sniper's gun
In the valley of the Nha-Trang for a war we never won

Whiskey, War, Suicide & Guns [x2]