I was trying to make a buck playing on the street
When I met this man in India
He started telling me about his life
Why he lived home so young
Found a new home in the British Empire
Which he served over 40 years
And would jump from planes with a parachute
Knowing that he might die
He was standing there right in front of me
Listening while I sang
He should know how much he's given me
Where do I begin?
Old man, you've been blessed
A life of tears and with happiness
Who you met, who you loved
The story needs to be told
There ain't much you've missed
Some were killed and some were kissed
Singapore to London
Hitched back in 1969
In 1969
Some other countries he was stationed in
Have ever since even changed their name
Where the weather was hot and the word was cold
He'd go wherever he was told
Had a beautiful girl and a beautiful man
A girl in Sweden
By the look in his eyes
She must have been nice
He wondered sometimes
How his life would have been
If he had stayed with her
But he was standing there right in front of me
Listening while I sang
He should know how much he's given me
Where do I begin?
Old man, you've been blessed

A life of tears and with happiness
Who you met, who you loved
The story needs to be told
There ain't much you've missed
Some were killed and some were kissed
Singapore to London
Hitched back in 1969
Singapore to London
Hitched back in 1989
He'd go wherever he was told
How his life was hard
To lose when you let him back

The saddest of downpears
He wished for someone better
Who would have safe me from black magic

With tears and with happiness
Who you met and who you love
Your story needs to be told
There ain't much you've missed
Some were killed and some were kissed
Singapore to London
Hashtagged in 1969
© transcript Emily Beynon