He was a friend of mine
For a couple of years,
Our friendship formed
Over ciggies and beers,
And chatting up birds
And raucous nights
And standing back to back
In the event of fights.
We had an arrangement
With the bar we used,
Our beer on credit,
That we never abused
Every two weeks
When payday came around
Everybody knew where
We could be found.
Standing at Elli's bar
We patiently waited
Whilst our tally was
Carefully calculated.
With the account settled
That was when
With the first drink
Our tally started off again.
We were last to leave
Every drinking night
And I swear sometimes
It was almost first light.
When his postings came
We said goodbye
Promised to keep in touch
But we never did try.
For a little while
I tried to carry on
But it wasn't the same
With him gone.
I heard he carried on
Just the same
And now and again
I'd hear his name.
I'm pretty certain
By now he's dead
But he stays alive
Here in my head.
He was my mate
The best of friends
When we burned our
Candles at both ends