Dormanstown Jimmy

Young Jimmy lived in Dormantown
Through all his twenty years of age
He never gave a second thought to what the future held
His father was a labourer, like his father before him
Young Jimmy was a tradesman now, a master of the weld

Jimmy's father always told him, "In the trade you can go anywhere
You'll never have to worry more about tomorrow's bread
There's a future in the steelworks, Jim
It's why your grandad left the fields
There's nothing taking the place of steel
At least, not before I'm dead"

Well, the years flew past, each furnace blast
Brought Jimmy near the truth at last
He had to fly to Saudi for two and a living wage
His father died not long ago
His lungs were black, his heartbeat slow
Bronchitis was the cause of death
And not his years of age

Well, the furnaces at Wootton Bee
Breathed silence now, where once they breathed
A roar like Thor in anger
Calling to the hills for coal
Oh, the papers said "There's jobs ahead
They've built a plant, computer fed
For each man that mans a button there's
Ten Jimmys on the dole"

Well, young Jimmy's back in Dormantown
His rent is up, his spirit down
He's got a wife and two bairns
And another plain-lacing faceless man
Down at the ministry
Said, "Another mouth to feed, indeed
Of factory fodder, we've no need
You know what you can do"

Well, the youth of Britain wears a frown
The rule of law is breaking down
The ship of hope has run aground
Nowhere to feed their souls
And as gentle Jimmy bites his nails
He understands how the patience fails
Like a ship with no wind in its sails
A worker on the dole

Well, they took Jim's granddad by the hand
They offered him a nice grand
He swapped the sunset on the land
For a filthy furnace clone
Now that law with prophets has run out
No matter how loud that Jimmy shouts
There's three million jobless millabouts
There's no one that wants to know
No matter how loud that Jimmy shouts
There's no one that wants to know