Twas a cold October day
When they found the body there,
With the trash in the dustbin by the door.
No one could bear to look
As they bagged it for the Bailey,
A newborn cold and dead upon the floor.

(Chorus)
There's a shrine in the alley
Where the people come to cry,
There's a shrine in the alley
Where they pray, why did it die?
We could have saved the family
Our compassion's not a lie.
There's a shrine in the alley
Where the people come to cry.

The tiny soul was carried
To the hospital with care,
So the surgeons could examine and confer.
As the Bobbies stood there waiting
From the doctors came a cry,
Tis a chicken you have brought to disinter!

(Chorus)
There's a shrine in the alley
Where the people come to cry,
There's a shrine in the alley
Where they pray, why did it die?
We could have saved the family,
Our compassion's not a lie.
There's a shrine in the alley
Where the people come to cry.

The teddy bears and candles,
All the flowers went away,
Red faces hide behind the bolted doors.
But tears of loss are somewhere
Sunday dinner went awry,
When the chicken in the dustbin was no more.

(Chorus)
There's a shrine in the alley
Where the people come to cry,
There's a shrine in the alley
Where they pray, why did it die?
We could have saved the family,
Our compassion's not a lie.
There's a shrine in the alley
Where the people come to cry.