Michael’s Tune

LYRICS

Michael’s Song

I remember my father coming home from the plant
Black lunch can hanging down from his hand
I remember the smell of work and sweat
I remember five kids the times they seemed set

Chorus

Ah Haw , I’ m telling you
Hhh humm, your dreams will all come true
Ah Haw, Don’t let them go
Hh humm, Keep them deep in your soul

Run down the driveway ,turn up the block
I’m going to see the men coming home at four o’clock
Number 1 gate now it won’t be long
The whistle just blew, it sounds like a song

Chorus

Stripped to the waist in front of the sink
The iron ore dust now, it covers like ink
The smell of smoke and supper time bread
Sensations of life are locked in my head

Chorus

Sitting in his lap with the radio on
A fiddler is named to play a Gaelic song
While notes resonate down deep in his chest
We’re lost in a time, I’ ll never forget.

 It’s funny how time twists and it turns
You think by now, we might have learned
What you hold in your heart is easy to forget
If you hold on to, all the things you regret.

Chorus

By Jerome AuCoin

About Jerome AuCoin

Jerome was born and raised in the north end of Sydney. His father was a steel worker like most men in the neighbourhood. At an early age the steel plant felt like an extension of the north end as there was always a reminder of the plant where ever you looked. This was especially true when the shifts were changing and men were either walking to or from the plant with their black lunch cans. There were at least three, what we call now convenience stores in the Ferry street area where the men dropped in to buy supplies as they made their way to the number 1 gate. This was a time when people sat on their front verandas conversing. The songs I wrote about the plant came from these fond, warm memories. Jerome’s father died at a very early age possibly as a result of years of hard work and injuries at the plant, he dedicate these tunes to him.

“Music was always a large part of the home as my four sibling and cousins were very much addicted to listening and singing along to radio and records. Playing mostly at get togethers, I was fortunate enough to play with Rita MacNeil for the better part of two years and some of the wonderful musicians who accompanied her in the early part of her career.”