Shannon,

Here you go, truly a beautiful song. Few are as good as McTell, or Andy M. Stewart :-).

Regards,

Don

THE SETTING, by Ralph McTell
From the Furey Bros. album The Setting.

Oh, I'll never forget, ah, the walk to the station,
And me with your suitcase being brotherly and strong,
And in trying to make light of the whole situation,
In mild conversation, we moved through the throng.

And above all the roar of the town was the blue sky.
You could here the birds singing, "O Joy of the Day,"
And there was no support from the city forthcoming,
No sympathy numbing "You're going away."

And you with your bright eyes and best dress for travel,
And me with my work clothes, unshaven and plain,
Oh, I fully intended to put in a half day,
But my good intentions went with you on the train.

I never looked back as the train left the station,
Crossed over the road and walked into a pub,
And there at the bar, oh, an old man was singing,
And I sat there drinking until it got dark.

And outside, the trees grew starlings like apples,
Their hustle and chatter undampened by the rain,
That washed down the pavements and into the gutters,
That soaked through my clothes as I set out again.

And above me, the stars were all hidden by rain clouds.
The song of the old man still locked in my brain,
And Oh Immigration, this curse of the nation,
The setting now fitting his sad sweet refrain.

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 29-Jul-02.