ALL THE GOOD SONGS

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When I used to sit on my grandad’s knee
He used to sing old songs to me  :
Waltzin’ Matilda, and a little bit of bush opera
It wasn’t much but it filled me with wonder,
I heard the national anthem  at line-up time
And Hymns on Sunday when the church bell chimed
God save Jesus and mummy and the queen
A little kid back then couldn’t know what it did mean
 
Pretty soon the radio was the thing
I used to like those pop stars sing
The Beatles and the Stones and all their clones
Little did we know we’d all be drones \
Listening to ringtones on   our phones
Can you tell me what has become ….
Of all the good songs, the soft and sad songs
The songs that make you cry, that make you wonder why
Where have they all gone,
all the good times and the best rhymes
The songs that we once sung that were there for everyone
All the good songs
There was a time when the world seemed young
Sittin’ round a fire when the day was done
A fiddler would play till the break of day
And we would sing the night away
Music belonged to you and me, there was no arts industry
No careers, no fears
Business plans, internet scams
No hard-sell or you-tube cams
Where are those sweet tunes under full moons
The strum of guitars under shining stars
All the real songs that can heal wrongs
That can take away the pain and make you whole again
All the good songs, the soft and sad songs
The songs that make you cry, make you wonder why
Where have they all gone
 
Is there something lost in the way we live today
Does it make you wish there was another way
They say you can’t go forward when you look behind
But the past is a shining light I use it as a guide
 
Now I sit my children on my knee
I sing to them  they smile innocently
We clap our hands and laugh with glee
But I wonder secretly what kind of world is it going to be
Without the old songs, those  precious gold songs
Like  children on my knee they mean so much to me
All the real songs that can heal wrongs
That can take away the pain make you whole again
Where have they all gone …..