Down On The Dole

The lorries roll through St. John Street
 And stir up the dust
 It never seems to settle nowadays
 There's a young man on the corner
 Just watch the rigs roll by
 He doesn't know how to drive
 And he can't afford to learn
 And he collects his money every week
 And turns the other cheek
 It's not easy, when you're down on the dole
 His sisters up in Glasgow
 at the Boarding School
 She's planning to become a teacher
 Nick, he dropped out early
 He never cared too much for school
 He left to go and labor at the quarry
 And the crushers are all closed down
 And there is no work to be found
 And that's the reason
 He's down on the dole
 He's not the only one who's unemployed
 It seems half his friends these days are out of work
 And this towns felt their frustration
 Their anger and their shame
 It's left them with an emptiness inside
 Well the dole boys have broken all the rules
 All the windows in their old high school
 Well there is always time
 When you're down on the dole
 Home life become uneasy
 It seems all they do is talk
 of how well Annie is doing up in Glasgow
 Well his folks are sympathetic
 But they just don't understand
 A young man still trying to find his way
 He dreams of places he has never been
 Somewhere other than his own back green
 They are only dreams
 When you are down on the dole
 He looks forward to springtime
 Lend the farmers a hand'
 Building dykes and mending broken gates
 They can't afford to pay much
 But he doesn't mind
 You see it satisfies him knowing
 That he's needed
 Cause there has been no work for so long
 And soon his spirit will be gone
 And there's no future
 When you're down on the dole