Far Germany

Come all you bold welders and listen to me, you 'II not make your fortune In far Germany, The agents will rob you then cast you adrift, wherever you go boys they'll give you short shrift.
I traveled from Scotland my mate from Furness, we headed for Hamburg with just an address.
A dingy hotel in the grim Hanseplatz our view the back, alley ,with dustbins and rats.

That cold Monday morning we went to the yard, the test wasn't easy nor was it too hard,
They gave us our numbers our hand-shields and gear, and told us you'II graft boys if you want to stay here,
We grafted like navvies 'in wind and in rain, but that bloody maester did nowt but complain,
First we were too fast boys then we were too slow, then our two faced foreman said we'd have to go.

They'd told us no piecework was being worked there but that was a come on a lot of hot air, Ten meters an hour lads that's thirty odd feet, a strange kind of piecework with no bonus sheet,
We packed up our gear then we went for our pay, the agent was out lads for most of the day,
A two hundred sub boys is all we were paid, no sign of our passports, or the week we had made.

They sent us to Lubeck we hoped to make good, the test was a fix lads they'd sold us a dud,
We drove hack lo Hamburg to get what Was: owed, another two hundred then off down the road,
Through Holland and Belgium and down into France, finding a contract was our only chance,
But too many cowboys had ruined the work our last hope was shattered, no jobs in Dunkirk.

When we got to Calais our money was low, we slept in the car boys two nights in a row, Then phoning our families to wire us some cash, we felt like two dossers or some kind of trash,
The white cliffs of Dover what a wonderful sight that view from the ferry in morning's first light,
The lump in my throat as I fought back the tears, t'was only two weeks. but it felt like two years.

We traveled for money, but came back flat broke, ambitions and savings bad gone up in smoke, so you young welders take warning by me, there's no easy money in far Germany
1976 Tune The Patriot Game D Behan